A Baby Changes Everything
by WritelkeUmeanit
Summary: The sequel to, Our Little Corner of the World. Part Three in the series. Drama/Family/Romance.
1. A Baby Story

**Chapter One.. A Baby Story...**

And part three, take one..

_**Chapter One...**_

Luke stood right in front of that nursery window; rooted to the spot, just like he had been over a month ago. Standing in the exact same spot where, weeks ago, his eyes roamed the index cards of all the newborns, not stopping on anyone in particular, just looking, admiring, wishing, hoping, that his baby would make it safely into the world, and have a spot, just like all those babies.

And thankfully, it happened. His baby made it safely into the world, and was currently occupying one of the few coveted spots. And he wasn't sure if it was just luck, or if Lorelai had payed off one of the nurses, or flirted with one of the doctors; the third option he knew, wasn't likely with the state she was in, but the thought did cross his mind, or if it was just dumb luck that his baby managed to get the prime spot. Right in front. The best one in the house. And his baby got it.

The delivery was something he would never forget. It was so chaotic, especially at first, everything was so out of the blue.. well, not _so_ out the blue, they both knew the day was coming, silently creeping up on them, but they just weren't expecting it to come today.

Lorelai was two weeks into her bed rest, she had one more week to go, and earlier that day, when they went for their weekly check up with Dr. Wyatt, right there on the table, right when he was about to examine her, her water broke. Immediately he admitted them to the hospital. He quickly eased their minds first, telling them that she made it long enough and it looked to be that their baby was okay, just as it should be, everything was fine. They had been able to do the sono-gram first, and he saw nothing that would cause for concern So they went to the hospital, expecting everything else to go fine... well their expectations didn't exactly play out that way. It wasn't all smooth sailing.

At first, everything was going alright. The nurses quickly guided Lorelai into a room, with Luke following closely behind, feeling anxious and excited at what was going to happen. And the moment they reached room 114, they changed Lorelai into a gown, getting her settled in bed, and attaching all these things to her. Luke did his best to stay calm, wincing when he saw them take out that needle and hold it near her hand. It wasn't so much that he hated seeing the actual needle, it's that he hated watching it go through skin. So right before they pushed it through her hand, Luke turned his head, and Lorelai gave him a sympathetic smile, turning her head as well and clamping her eyes shut, muttering an, "ow," as it made contact. Once it was put in place, Lorelai called Luke back, telling him it was okay, and he quickly took a seat next to her, taking her other hand in his, watching as two nurses hustled around the room. The next thing they did was put this strap around her stomach and when they turned on a small screen, the image of their baby appeared on it. They both smiled with relief when they heard that heartbeat, and were careful to steer their gazes away, not wanting to find out the sex. They both waited so long, they wanted to follow through, make it through the last leg of the race. Even Luke, who had the temptation sitting right in front of him for weeks, held back. He liked the idea of waiting and he wasn't going to find out if Lorelai wasn't. They started this together, and they were going to finish it together. That's how he felt. He wasn't going to jump ahead.

For a little while, everything was okay. The nurse's left, instructing Lorelai to call down when and if the pain got to be too much and she wanted an epidermal. Well of course, she demanded it right then and there and much to Luke's dismay, they made him leave the room. He didn't understand why he had to, but all he knew was that he did. So he went down the hallway, and suddenly it clicked in his head that they hadn't called anyone, so he ran to a pay phone, first calling Rory, then Lorelai's parents, and then Liz and T.J, and then Sookie, and then he quickly checked in at the diner, letting them know he wouldn't be in today. They all promised to get there as fast as they could, and by the time he had finished with all the calls, a nurse was calling him back, saying the coast was clear, and he could return to the room.

He quickly jogged down the hallway, going straight for room 114 and took his seat right back beside Lorelai, asking her how she felt. She gave him a smile saying the epidermal would take a bit to kick in. Luke frowned, hating that she still had to go through pain, and before he could tell her about the calls he made, he saw her face tense up and felt his hand being squeezed. It was a contraction. She had a number of them before they reached the hospital, he knew the signs. So he did what any good husband was supposed to do- let his wife squeeze his hand as hard as she could, not saying a word about the pain. He helplessly brought his other hand to stroke her cheek, whispering soothing words to try and get her through it.

A moment later, she let out a breath of relief and Luke watched as her blue eyes looked back at him again. She gave him a lazy half smile back before throwing her head against the pillow.

The epidural went to work pretty quickly. The next contraction she felt, but the one after wasn't nearly as bad, and it just continued on like that for an hour or so, in which time, Emily, Richard, and Rory came rushing into the room, desperate to know how she was doing. The doctor had just finished examining her at the time and he told them that every thing was going along fine. They all nodded their thanks and once the doctor left Lorelai's side, Rory went rushing to hug her. Lorelai laughed when she pulled back not two seconds after embracing her. Rory wasn't overly fond of the, going through labor thing, and wanted to keep her distant, so she did. Emily and Richard greeted Luke and their daughter, then told them they would be out in the waiting room with Sookie and Jackson, who weren't allowed in because the hospital didn't want to over crowd the room, and since they weren't family, they were told to wait.

Rory hung around for a bit, promising to split before she started pushing and before even ten minutes went by, Liz and T.J came barreling in with Doula sleeping in the carrier T.J wore around his chest. They were ecstatic about the news and really let it show. Liz was so excited that she was going to be an aunt and T.J was happy that it wasn't him who was gonna walk out of there with a broken hand. They stayed around for a bit, only leaving when the doctor and nurse came in to check on Lorelai. That's when the trouble started.

They noticed there was a bit of a drop in the baby's heart beat and at first, they didn't seem too concerned, they just instructed Lorelai to turn to her other side, trying to see if a new position would help things. When that didn't work, they asked Lorelai to lay on her back. They kept a close eye on her, the nurse and doctor looking back and forth between the monitor and Lorelai and when they saw that the heartbeat was only going lower and lower they got Lorelai to roll over so she was on her hands and knees. Both Luke and Lorelai started asking questions, wanting to know what was going on and the doctor and nurse told them that the heartbeat was just getting a little low, that they were just trying to get it back up, but they said to keep calm. That this happened sometimes. The couple nodded, both doing their best not to get too worried, but then, when the oxygen mask came out, both expectant parents started to panic a little bit. The nurse guided Lorelai to lay on her back again while the doctor placed the mask over Lorelai's face and told her to take deep breaths. She did, keeping her eyes glued to that monitor screen and when she saw that numbers went down again, tears sprung in her eyes. And that was when things got messy.

It got so low, that they had to do an emergency c – section, suspecting that maybe the baby went back to an almost horizontal position and couldn't get to the birth canal, or that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. Both the stress on the baby, and the stress on Lorelai was too much, that it was making the heartbeat drop and surgery suddenly became very necessary, there wasn't a choice in the matter.

Luke watched helplessly as the nurse frantically called down to other nurses, telling them to get the room ready and as she yelled that, her and the doctor were getting ready to wheel Lorelai down the hall. He did his best to keep calm, not wanting to show Lorelai that he was worried. He knew if she saw that he was panicking, she would too, and her stress level would only rise, and that wouldn't be good. She was scared enough, he saw it in her eyes as he held her hand tightly, looking down at her as he walked right beside that bed, keeping up with the doctor and nurse as they wheeled her to the emergency room.

They passed by the waiting room on their way there, and when everyone caught site of Lorelai, they all sprung up. Luke saw Rory approaching them, tears in her eyes as she ran, trying to catch up with them, and Luke quickly assured her that everything was fine, they were just doing a c-section, there was nothing to worry about. Rory nodded, looking down at her mom, and Lorelai nodded as well through watery eyes, backing up Luke's words. She wouldn't give her daughter anything to be concerned about until it was absolutely necessary.. _If_ it became absolutely necessary. Seeing the tears in her mom's eyes told her differently though, that everything wasn't okay. She begged to be let in with her mom, not wanting to be away from her, but she couldn't go, no more than one person could and Luke quickly said that everything would be fine, he promised her and said he would get her the second the baby came and before Rory could protest anymore, a nurse came to guide her back to the waiting room as Lorelai and Luke rushed into the emergency room.

Luke was held up right outside of the room, where he had to change into a gown, while Lorelai was getting prepared for surgery.

No more than two minutes later, Luke was allowed back in and quickly he sat down on the stool, wheeling himself to sit right next to Lorelai. He had seen this happen, many times on that stupid show that Lorelai always made him watch. He saw many babies being born, and saw so many dad's to be, just like him, who sat right where he was. Their only job was to sooth their wives and let them know what was going on with the surgery. Some of them had video cameras, but he didn't, Lorelai didn't want the labor filmed, she knew she wasn't in the best shape and wouldn't look the greatest while pushing out a baby, but she did give Luke a digital camera to take photos of the baby the second it came back. That camera was lodged in Luke's jean pocket, ready to go the moment it happened.

It took a few minutes for Lorelai to get numb enough that they go perform the surgery and once they did, they worked quickly but it felt much longer for Luke and Lorelai. He kept his hands cupped around her cheek, looking up every two seconds, his ears ready to hear that cry. The cry that meant their baby was okay.

Finally, after what felt like forever for the Danes', they heard that cry. The cry of a baby. The whiny, annoying cry of a baby. It was the best thing to hear then, and both Luke and Lorelai looked up when the doctor held their baby in the air for them to see.

"Oh my God." Lorelai awed, her eyes freeing the tears that begged to fall.

"Congratulations." the doctor smiled while handing the baby off to a nurse to be wiped down.

"Was that a-?"

"-Yup." Lorelai nodded. "A tiny wiwi." She laughed as the happy tears traveled down her cheeks.

"A boy." He awed, standing up to watch as they cleaned him off.

"Good job, daddy." Lorelai smiled. "You made us a boy."

The happy couple got to see their baby before he got taken away for some testing to make sure everything was okay and while they were stitching Lorelai up, Luke ran to the waiting room, wanting to let everyrone know that everything was okay. When Rory saw him, she jumped from Jess's arms and ran to Luke's, who hugged her back as she tackled him. He quickly told her that they have a boy and Rory started jumping up and down and when everyone overheard the news, Sookie and Liz started jumping up and down too, not able to hold in their excitement. Richard stood up to congratulate his son and law and Luke saw that Emily had tears in her eyes. He was shocked to say the least. He had never seen the woman cry before.

"Congratulations, Luke." She smiled, doing her best not to let the tears of joy fall.

Luke nodded. "Thank you."

"How's Lorelai? Is she alright?"

"She's fine." Luke assured her. "Everything went fine."

Emily nodded. "When can we see her?"

"Soon, they're just finishing up before she goes to recovery."

"Do you have a name yet?"

"One name? No, Enough for a small city? Yes." He grinned.

Lorelai must have changed her mind a million times about a boys name. At first, they had Kaleb picked out, but then she found another name that she was crazy about, a name she saw on t.v, and then she found another name, and etc etc. Soon a list filled with at least thirty different names was made. She didn't changed her mind once about the girl's name because she firmly believed that her dream was telling her something, that it was fate, but the boy's name was undecided and remained that way.

It took a bit for the doctor to finish up in the surgery room with Lorelai, but soon after the c-section, they saw her being wheeled in a bed, towards the recovery room. Luke quickly stood up and jogged to catch up with them with everyone else close behind.

"Whoa, whoa," Dr. Wyatt smiled just before reaching the room. "Two at a time okay." Everyone' face immediately fall. "I'm sorry, its just policy after surgery, no more than two at a time for the first day." He apologized. The group nodded in understanding, watching as Lorelai got wheeled behind the door.

"You two go first." Luke smiled, looking back at Rory and Emily.

"Are you sure?" Rory asked, knowing Luke wanted to see her.

He nodded. "She's your mom, and you're her mother." He said, glancing at Emily, then nudging his chin to the door of her room.

The two women nodded and quickly went in.

"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, making a bee line straight for Lorelai's bed, immediately reaching her arms out to hug her.

"Rory, honey, ease up a little, we don't want to pop the stitches, that wouldn't be good." Lorelai smiled.

"Oops, sorry." The younger woman apologized, immediately pulling back.

"No, no, come here, just not so tight." Lorelai frowned, holding her arms out.

Rory smiled, leaning forward again, but this time being more careful to keep her grip loose.

"I hope you're happy with a baby brother, cause there's no way I can take him back. I know Luke won't let me, he's gonna like being albe to number me." Lorelai pouted.

Rory laughed. "I'll come home a lot, does that help?"

Lorelai nodded. "Hey mom." She smiled, seeing Emily over Rory's shoulder.

"Hello Lorelai" She smiled. "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Where is my little brother, anyway?" Rory asked. "I wanna see him"

"I would guess in the nursery."

"I'll be back." Rory promised before turning around and bolting for the door.

"Well I guest I've been replaced." Lorelai laughed, watching as her daughter ran for the door. She never was the athletic type.

"Are you feeling alright? Luke told me the surgery went fine."

"A little sore, but I'm okay." Lorelai assured her.

"Good." Emily nodded, glad to hear it.

Lorelai nodded back and they fell into a moment of silence. Neither really knowing what to say next.

"So, um, you wanna see your grandson?" Lorelai asked. " That is if there's still room, I'm sure everyone's crowding the window by now."

"We'll I'll see if I can get in." Emily said as she headed for the door.

"Say hi for me." Lorelai called.

"I will." The older woman promised while her hand reached for the handle of the door but before it could get there, she stopped, turning around to look at her daughter.

"Lorelai?"

"Yeah?" She asked, bringing her attention up to Emily.

"I just want you to know, that I'm very proud of you." Lorelai was a little taken back by her mother's words, but gave her a smile in return. She couldn't remember the last time Emily said that to her. "So is your father." She added.

"Thank you mom, that means a lot."

Emily gave her a smile before leaving.

Since then, almost two hours had past. Everyone managed to get their turn to see Lorelai and before they knew it, visiting hours were over and a nurse was asking them to leave. Luke stayed with his wife, watching as she fell asleep, then once she did, he left to visit the nursery and that's where he's been for the last half hour.

Luke frowned when he saw that his son was starting to get fussy and before he think to do anything, he saw a nurse come to lift his little boy up and take him into the back room. Just a moment later, he was being wheeled out in the hallway.

"He was getting hungry." The nurse explained. "Do you know if your wife still wants to breast feed?" Luke nodded. "Is she awake?"

"Last I checked, no, but that was a while ago, she might be up."

"Okay, well let's go see then." The young woman smiled, turning to wheel the baby towards his mom's room with Luke following close behind.

They entered quietly and when they did, they saw that Loerlai was still sound asleep. Luke smiled at the site.

"Waking her isn't the best idea, it's good that she gets as much sleep as possible now, before you bring this little guy home, than you both won't be getting any sleep." The nurse smiled, looking down at the baby. "Do you want to try feeding him?"

Luke looked down at the baby. He was getting restless; his little arms moving all around as his legs were kicking back and forth.

"I could bring him back to the nursery, if you're not rea-"

"No, no, I'll do it. I'll feed him." Luke nodded quickly

"Okay," she smiled. "'i'll get some formula.

Luke sighed once she left, bringing his eyes down to look at his baby and the moment they made eye contact, Luke heard a voice behind him.

"Hey."

He quickly turned around to find his wife's tired blue eyes looking back at him.

"Hey."

"What's he doing?" She asked, jerking her chin towards the baby as she put her hands on either side of her, moving her body to sit up.

"He's eating- well he's gonna eat, the nurse, she just left to get a bottle, I was gonna feed him, but you're up now, so you can feed him, right?" Luke asked nervously. He wasn't sure if he was ready for this yet. Ready to hold a baby, to hold his new born baby. He just looked so small and fragile.

"I'll feed him," Lorelai smiled. "if you pick him up first."

"What?"

"You haven't held your son yet." She frowned. "I wanna see you pick him up."

Luke sighed, turning back around to look down at the infant.

"Luke, it's okay," she soothed, watching him struggle. "you're not gonna brake him. You know how to hold a baby, you picked up Martha and so far, not a scratch on her." She grinned at her husband.

Luke nodded at the thought and took a moment before reaching for the baby, but before his hands could make it, Lorelai saw him quickly pull them back.

"Wheel him over here, babe, I'll help you." Lorelai offered.

Luke quickly did as he was told, wheeling the baby close to the bed.

"Okay, now you know what to do here, you just slid your hand underneath his back and put your other hand under his head. Always support the head." She warned.

Luke took a deep breath, watching his unhappy son ball up his fist and bring his closed hand to his mouth.

"Go'head babe." Lorelai urged him.

Carefully, Luke reached his arms into the carrier, doing exactly as Lorelai said; sliding one hand under his back while his other hand went underneath his head.

"Good, now lift him up." Lorelai encouraged when she saw he had a good grip on the small, little body. And slowly, Luke lifted the baby up in the air.

Lorelai laughed when he froze, holding their little boy up, away from his body.

"Okay, now holding him like that," Lorelai started, pointing to his elevated arms. "that may lead to dropping him."

Luke instantly panicked, being very careful not to move his body as he turned his head to look at Lorelai.

"Bring him to your chest, just like with Martha."

"Lorelai..." he warned when their son started to get very antsy, his little face scrunching up in anger as his body moved around in frustration.

"It's okay, he's okay." She quickly assured him. "Just bring him closer to your body, he's just hungry. And you're gonna eat soon, don't worry, as soon as daddy does what mommy says, I'll feed you." Lorelai cooed to her little boy.

Luke looked down at the baby in his hands not wanting him to cry, so slowly, he slid his arms back, repositioning his hold so he could lay against his chest.

"What a Kodak moment this is." Lorelai gushed, putting her hands over her heart as she looked at her husband and son.

"Lorelai..." he warned. "Maybe you should, you know.." He gestured to her chest.

"Oh, right." She realized, holding her arms out in wanting and Luke took his time turning around, not wanting to move the baby too much and then once he was facing Lorelai, he carefully handed their son off to her.

"Oh good, you're up." The nurse smiled when she saw Lorelai pulling down her gown so she could feed the baby. "So I guess you don't need this." She said, holding up the bottle.

"No," Luke shook his head. "we're fine."

"Okay," the woman smiled "do you need help?" She asked Lorelai.

"No, I'm good. I've done this before, and I don't think the protocol here changes very much." Lorelai smiled.

"Okay, just call down if you need anything."

Luke nodded for them, tossing the woman a smile before focusing back on his family.

"Really? This doesn't bother you?" Lorelai asked when she saw him watching her moving the baby so his mouth could find her nipple.

He shook his head. "Why would it bother it me?"

"You hate it when women breast feed, especially in public." She reminded him. "You said they should find a cave or something, not do it where everyone can see." She laughed at the memory.

"Well you're not just any woman." Luke told her. "You're my wife and you're feeding my son."

"Right, _your_, son, because I didn't carry him for nine months, and then go through surgery to get him here." She joked.

"You know what I mean." Luke said gruffly.

"Yeah" Lorelai smiled, looking down as their son ate peacefully, his little mouth sucking slowly as his eyes closed in contentment. "Like father, like son." She sighed with a smile. The little boy had no problem latching on, he took to it immediately.

"And you're not doing that in public, no one's getting a free show or anything. If you're at the diner and you need to do that, I'll take ya upstairs."

"Dirty!" She gasped. "Not in front of the baby, Luke!"

"No one else gets to see you do this, I mean it. You're.. you know.." He waved his hand awkwardly at her chest.

"Boobs?" Lorelai laughed.

"Yeah, those." Luke nodded. "They're not for the whole world to see, just me." He said.

"Feeling a little territorial, honey?" Lorelai cooed. "Because you know, they aren't just yours any more, you have to share now." She smiled, looking down their baby as he fed. She brought her hand to stroke his cheek as his mouth moved back and forth.

"With him, that's it, no one else." Luke said seriously.

"I won't breast freed in public, I promise." Lorelai laughed.

"Okay," Luke nodded, letting out a breath of relief. "good."

"Yeah," Lorelai smiled, looking between her husband and her baby. Her little family. "Good."

... to be continued...

**Please Please REVIEW!!!!!**


	2. Stubborn, Fussy and Fustrated

**Chapter Two: Stubborn, Fussy, and Fustrated**!

And before reading, shoot over to my profile, check out my **homepage**, go to the **Eighth Season page**, and look at the **picture** I have posted of **Baby Danes**!!! And please let me know what **you think of him**!!

**And thank you Rover, for beta-ing!!! Everyone say thank you to Rover!!**

**Chapter Two**

_Next Morning..._

"Come on baby." Lorelai urged, trying to get her newborn son to latch on. "You did great yesterday, what's wrong today?" She asked, looking down at the little boy, and frowning as his head continued to move back and forth in frustration. He was refusing to open his mouth to her nipple.

"Hey." Luke smiled as he walked through the door; two take out bags from the diner in his hands as he came.

"Your son is being stubborn." Lorelai accused, looking up at her husband with defeat.

"What?" He asked, tilting his head over his shoulder to look as he unloaded the bags.

"He won't latch on." Lorelai's frown growing bigger as she complained. "Maybe he just doesn't like this boob." She said thoughtfully.

"Maybe he's tired." Luke shrugged, bringing his eyes to the squirming baby, letting his gaze rest there for a moment to watch as his eyelids close for a minute, just to reopen, and then go on to repeat the process.

"But he just woke up." Lorelai argued.

"How long did he sleep?" Luke asked while walking towards the bed to take a seat next to his wife.

"Half hour, maybe, but I know he's hungry, he hasn't eaten in a while."

"Did you try the bottle?" Luke asked, quickly leaning over Lorelai to grab the bottle that sat on the night stand. The nurse had given it to them a little while ago, encase the breast feeding didn't work out, or if Lorelai changed her mind.

"No, but-"

And before she could finish her sentence, the nipple of the bottle made its way into the baby's mouth, instinct took over, and he began sucking away.

"He likes that nipple better then my nipple!" Lorelai accused, her fallen face looking down at her baby in shock. "But yesterday he did fine! Better than fine! I practically had to pry him off of me, and now... now he hates me." She sobbed.

Luke looked up, the very picture of confusion when he found tears clouding her blue eyes.

"Lorelai, you know the nurse said there could be problems. He may not take to it every time." Luke quickly reminded her, trying to prevent those tears from falling.

"No, no," Lorelai shook her head vehemently. "He hates me. My baby hates me. I'm a bad mother." Lorelai cried as salty tears slid down her cheeks.

Before Luke could say a word, a knock at the door took his chance away. He looked back at Lorelai and she just nodded as her hands worked to wipe her face.

"Come in." He called.

Doing as she was told, Emily Gilmore opened the door to allow herself in.

"Hi Emily." Luke smiled at his mother in law.

"Hello Luke." She smiled back as she approached them. "Good morning Lorelai."

"Hi mom." Lorelai did her best to smile but her red eyes betrayed her. Emily gave a curious look to Luke, wondering if something happened before she came and to answer her thought, he looked down at the baby in Lorelai's arms. Emily's confusion was replaced with a frown when she saw a bottle coming from the baby's mouth.

"He's eating." The older woman said matter-of-factly.

Luke just nodded, looking down to adjust his hand so the bottle was a bit higher.

"How come you're not feeding him?" She asked, focusing her eyes on Lorelai. "I thought you were going to breast feed"

"I was." Lorelai said dryly.

"Well what happened? You know breast milk is better for babies. I'm sure one of the nurses must have told you. You can't always take the easy way out Lorelai, it will benefit your baby's future if you just put in a little effort and breast feed, instead of just sticking that thing in his mouth." Emily lectured, looking at the bottle with disgust.

"I'm not taking the easy way out mother." Lorelai shot back. "I tried feeding him! I tried for almost a half hour, but he wouldn't! He doesn't want to! He doesn't want me! The second Luke stuck that thing in his mouth, he started sucking away and who could blame him! I mean who wants to love a person who can't even decide on a name for you!" Lorelai ranted as a fresh wave of tears pooled in her eyes.

Thinking fast, Luke gently took his wife's hand and wrapped her fingers around the bottle, then once he saw that she had a good enough grip, he let go and quickly stood up, gesturing with a tilt of his head, for Emily to follow him to the hall.

"We'll be right back." He promised Lorelai before leaving.

Once they reached the hall, Luke dived right in; explaining to Emily what was going on. He said that her hormones must still be a little out of whack and that the confusion about the baby's name combined with the breast feeding was just getting to her. He told her that yesterday, the baby did so well with the feeding, and than today, all of the sudden, things shifted the other way and before Luke could finish, Emily held up her hand to stop him. Luke gave her a confused look, but Emily just smiled, saying she could handle this as she turned to the door. Of course he was a little hesitant to leave her alone with Lorelai, but he figured, she at least had a mother's perspective and maybe she would actually be able to help, but just the same, Luke took a seat right outside the door, ready to be there if Lorelai needed him.

Emily couldn't help but frown when she saw her daughter sitting up in bed, upset over her baby, upset with herself. It wasn't a good sight. She didn't enjoy seeing Lorelai while she was anything but happy.

Cautiously, she walked further into the room, her hand leaving the door to approach Lorelai. Emily kept her gaze on her daughter, watching as Lorelai's focus stayed on the baby in her arms, her hand gripped lightly on the bottle as she looked at him. The only sounds in the room coming from the baby and Lorelai; the soft noise his mouth made as he sucked on the bottle, and Lorelai's occasional sniffling.

"You were never breast fed." Emily said suddenly after taking a seat.

Lorelai looked up, confusion spreading across her face at her mother's confession.

"Only in the hospital, when you first born. I wasn't planning on it, I hadn't really thought about it while I was pregnant, but the nurse asked me if I wanted to try, so I thought, I may as well try it once, so I did." Emily shrugged as the memory filled her head. "I thought I would hate it. All the horrors I had heard about it... I never thought I would even want to try. None of my friends ever did, my mother didn't, so why should I? But I did." She awed at her actions. "I felt I should. I don't know why, but I just thought I should. Of course, it wasn't the most pleasant feeling in the world, I certainly didn't enjoy the cramps, but you," she met Lorelai's gaze. "you took right to it. You didn't give a hard time or anything. It must have been the only time in your life when you didn't give me a hard time." Emily smiled. Lorelai's lips turned up a bit. "You loved it. I know you did. You didn't cry, or fuss, or anything. Later on though, that was a different story. When I went to give you the bottle, you knew it was different. Of course you drank it anyway, but you were fussy and it took you a quite a long time to finish that bottle and I almost thought about breast feeding. It made you happy, it was better for you—but I didn't. I couldn't." She corrected herself, a bit of regret in her tone as she said the words. "It just wasn't what I was supposed to do. I wasn't supposed to breast feed you. After the hospital, I wasn't supposed to feed you at all. That's what the nannies were for. They were supposed to take care of you. Not me—so I didn't."

Lorelai frowned, watching as her mother's fallen face almost took a look of apology.

"Maybe things would have been different...maybe if I did breast feed you... maybe if I did stay up with you at night when you couldn't sleep...maybe if I was the one who took your temperature when you were sick…maybe..." Emily quick shook her head, trying to suppress her emotions. "Well, that's in the past now. It is what it is." She put on a smile and quickly went on. "You know, you were always stubborn." She said. "You still are and I think Rory and Luke would have no problem agreeing with me." Emily smiled, and Lorelai couldn't help but smile as well. "He may just be stubborn, Lorelai." She said, looking down at the baby as his mouth slowed down a bit. "You're his mother, and he may not realize that now, but that just means that he's too young to hate you. He's a baby. They don't know what they want." Emily shrugged. "Right now, he thinks he wants the bottle, but maybe later, he won't." She reasoned. "He may completely change his mind. It has nothing to do with you, Lorelai." Emily said firmly. "You've done nothing wrong. Sometimes things just don't work out. He may wind up on the bottle, or he many want to breast feed later, but I promise you, you did nothing wrong...you're doing everything right." Emily did her best to smile as she tried to block out the memories of when she was sitting right where Lorelai was.

The younger woman nodded as she took in her mother's words, her eyes traveling down to watch as her baby ate peacefully.

"It's just... this never happened with Rory." Lorelai protested. "And a name. I can't even decide on a name. Maybe he is holding something against me, maybe-"

"No." Emily stopped her. "He's a day old Lorelai. He doesn't know any better to realize whether he has a name or not, he's not holding anything against you."

"But maybe I am doing something wrong, maybe-"

"No." Emily said firmly, making sure to lock eyes with her daughter. "You are not doing anything wrong. Look at him, Lorelai." She demanded as she brought her eyes down to the baby. Lorelai followed her gaze.

They both took a moment to watch, keeping their focus on the baby in Loerlai's arms.. His eyes were closed in contempt and his little hand was resting on Lorelai's arm as his cheeks went back and forth with the bottle.

"Does he look happy?" Emily asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes." Lorelai said confidently.

"Then you're doing nothing wrong."

Lorelai looked up, a smile on her face as she nodded. "Thank you." She said sincerely.

The older woman smiled. "Well I should go get Luke, I'm sure he's worrying."

"Yeah, tell him the coast is clear, his wife has her sanity back. For now anyway."

Emily grinned as she stood up and left the room.

"Poor daddy." Lorelai sighed as she brought her hands to stroke her baby's cheek. "One day and already mommy is losing it."

When Luke heard the door open behind him, he quickly turned around to find Emily standing by the door. When she gave him a smile that everything was okay, Luke let out a breath of relief that he didn't realize he was holding.

"Well I should go. I only came to stop by on my way back from running some errands. I have to get home. Lorelai's father is probably home by now, he's coming home early today, we have a charity event in just over an hour and I still need to get ready."

"Okay." Luke nodded. "Thank you, Emily. I don't know what you said to her, but thank you." Luke said, wanting her to know he appreciated what she did.

"You're welcome." She smiled. "Goodbye Luke. You'll tell Lorelai I left?"

He nodded, giving her a smile before she turned to leave and once she did, he turned in the opposite direction to go back to his family.

_Later... Yale..._

"Here's my article, it's over five hundred words, I don't care. I'm not making anymore cuts, that's it. I already made more than I should, if I take out anymore, then it's useless. I may as well not write anything. I had a hard enough time making cuts the first time, let alone the third time and if it doesn't meet your Nazi standards, I don't care. I spent three hours working on this last night. I'm done. I don't care. I am not making any more cuts, that's it!" Paris said stubbornly, her voice very firm as she slammed her article down on Rory's desk.

"Look!" Rory exclaimed excitedly as she bounced up from her chair to show her friend the picture of her new baby brother.

"What is that?" Paris asked as she looked at the picture.

"It's a baby." She said matter-of-factly.

"I know it's a baby." Paris rolled her eyes. "But whose baby is it? Is it yours? Were you pregnant?" She asked curiously. "Well you hid it will. I'll give you that"

"No, he's not mine." Rory rolled her eyes. "And you said what, not who, like it was some weird alien creature that you've never seen before."

"I haven't seen it before."

"No, but you've seen babies, you know should know what they look like."

"I do know what they look like, but you didn't say whose baby it was, you just pulled out a random picture of a head in a blanket." Paris argued.

"It's not just a head in a blanket; his body is in the blanket, so he doesn't get cold." Rory defended.

"What is it sleeping with penguins? No one needs that many blankets."

"Paris, he's a newborn. They get cold easily."

"Does it have a name.?"

"Will you stop saying it."

"Sorry, he…" Paris said dramatically.

"No, not yet, mom and Luke haven't decided on one yet."

"That's your brother?" Paris asked archly.

"Yeah." Rory smiled proudly.

"Nice." Paris said before looking up from the picture. "I'm not making anymore cuts." She grumped before stalking off in the opposite direction.

Rory sighed, wondering why she was still friends with her.

_Later... Hospital..._

It was just after one and Lorelai was left alone in her room. Luke went to pick up Rory because her car was at the mechanics for an inspection and Liz, T.J, and Duloa, had just left. The four adults ate lunch, talked mainly about babies of course, what with inspiration being so close and all. The six week and day old baby had a makeshift play date. For the most part, they just napped side by side on the bed, while the adults ate and then, when the babies woke up, fussy and hungry, they ate together. Lorelai was surprised to hear that Liz was breast feeding. Of course, knowing how uncomfortale her brother would be with seeing that, she pumped before coming and fed Duloa the milk using a bottle. She said that it was the natural thing to do and that it was just the pain talking in the hospital. And Lorelai, not ready to try breast feeding just yet, gave her little boy a bottle, so the two laid next to each other, each with a bottle stuck in their mouths to eat.

"Hello." A nurse greeted as she walked into the room.

"Hi." Lorelai smiled.

"You ready to walk around a little?" She asked as she went to the I.V bag to make sure it was working correctly.

"Does it involve getting up?"

"Yes." The nurse laughed.

"And there's no way I could do this sitting down?"

"Not if you want to be out of here in two days."

"Okay." Lorelai sighed dramatically as she pushed the covers from her body.

With the IV pole in hand, the nurse brought it closer, and then helped her patient to stand up.

"Is there any chance of two days being pushed back to tomorrow?" Lorelai asked, hopeful at the thought of being able to go home. "Because this whole experience is starting to remind me of the two and half weeks I spent in that bed, and let me tell you, laying around and watching TV all day is not all it's cracked up to be."

The nurse smiled, nodding at the thought.

"I don't know about tomorrow." She said honestly. "Three days is usually the minimal after a c-section, but we'll see how you do today, okay?"

"Okay." Lorelai nodded reluctantly.

They did laps around the halls for about fifteen minutes. It was part of the recovery process. Lorelai's stomach was still causing her pain, and walking—even moving, made that worse, so a little therapy was necessary to get her used to walking through the pain. She had to be able to get up, and stand on her own. The pain wouldn't just go away when she went the home; they were making that perfectly clear to Lorelai. It was the aftermath of the c-section. They had done it once already-the walking, in the morning, and this was time number two. The third would come later.

By the time they finished up and got back to the room, Luke and Rory were in there, waiting for them. Rory was laying sprawled out on the bed, her little brother lying next to there.

"Hey, mini me, up." Lorelai ordered, teasingly.

"Oops, sorry." Rory laughed as she rolled off the bed to kneel on the floor, still keeping her bother's attention as she did.

"How's she doing?" Luke asked the nurse, wanting to know how his fwife's progress was coming along.

"Good." The woman nodded. "I don't think she'll be out of here by tomorrow, but I don't see why she won't be able to leave by Thursday."

Luke nodded his thanks and turned to go back to Lorelai as the nurse left.

"How's your stomach?" He asked once he was next to her ."Does it still hurt?"

"Yeah." Lorelai admitted, sighing at the thought.

Luke frowned, bringing his eyes to her flannel covered stomach.

"It's not too bad." She assured him. "It's worse when I walk, right now, I'm okay, but she said that's normal. It will probably still hurt even after I go home, but I'm okay."

Luke nodded, still not liking that she was in pain.

"Um, mom." Rory winced, her hands stilling in the air when she saw her brothers annoyed face, scrunching up in fustration.

"Yeah?" She asked as both her and Luke's head turned to Rory.

"I don't think he's happy." Rory frowned, watching as he kicked his feet back and forth and then letting her eyes travel up his body to find his cheeks turning red and his eyes watery with tears.

"What did your big sister do?" Lorelai cooed as she reached her arms to pick up the baby.

"We were just playing pica-boo when all of the suden, _your, _mini me," she grinned, looking at Luke accusing. "started crying. How could he cry during pica-boo. Who doesn't like pica-boo? Every baby likes pica-boo. It was a game invented specifically for babies. I liked pica-boo, didn't I mom?"

"It was your favorite, babe." Lorelai grinned, playing along as she rocked back and forth, trying to calm her crying baby.

"And I'm sure you liked pica-boo too because we have very similar taste in a lot of things, and I'm betting pica-boo was definitely on that list, which has to mean one thing." She built up dramatically as she turned her head to Luke. "You didn't like pica-boo." She concluded, her tone like she was accusing him of a crime.

"Jeez." Luke grumbled.

"Well he had to get it from somewhere." Lorelai added as she reached for the pacifier to see if that would sooth the baby.

"Were you aware that you married someone who didn't like pica-boo?" Rory asked her mom.

"If I was, do you think I would have married him?"

"True." Rory nodded. "A divorce might be a little messy though." Rory winced. "Since there's a baby involved now."

"Guess I'm stuck with him." Lorelai sighed dramatically.

"Must you talk about me like I'm not here?" Luke said, getting irritated with them.

"If only you would have known sooner." Rory said sadly.

"Sorry little guy." Lorelai apologized, looking down at the baby on her chest. "If I would have known, maybe I could have found you a daddy who liked playing pica-boo and he would have passed that onto you, but I didn't know sweetie." She sympathized as he sucked on the pacifier in his mouth, his cries turned to quiet whining.

"Okay, I can see I'm not needed here, so I'm gonna go. I'm sure there's at least one willing nurse who could show me where the cafeteria is." Luke said as he stood up.

"You know where the cafeteria is!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"What's that?" Luke furrowed his brows. "Is someone talking? It couldn't be my wife, 'cause she wouldn't dare talk about me like I wasn't here." He grinned.

"Your daddy's mean." Lorelai pouted as she looked down at her fussy son. "Not even a year, and already he wants to leave me for a hot nurse."

"Not forever, maybe just a day or so." Luke shrugged.

"Go away daddy!" Lorelai yelled, using her best baby voice to do so. "Stop being mean to mommy!"

"Okay, well I was gonna get some food for your mom, but if you want me to go, I'm sure I could find that nurse..."

"No! Wait!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I'm sorry! I want food!"

"I'll be back." Luke grinned.

_Later..._

"I don't know what to do." Lorelai frowned, her mind debating as she looked down at the baby next to her, who was lying on the mattress, between Luke's open legs.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to." Luke told her, his body leaned over the baby to hold the pacifier in his son's mouth to keep him occupied until Lorelai made up her mind.

"But I do want to."

On that note, wordlessly, Luke freed his hand from the binky and brought both hands to undo the first two buttons on the flannel that Lorelai was wearing.

"So is this your, actions-speaking-louder-than words, thing?"

Luke grinned, saying yes by undoing the front clasp on her bra.

Lorelai laughed. "Well since I'm already exposed in all." She shrugged, reaching her arms out to scoop up the baby.

She took a deep breath before bringing him close enough to her chest and after she took a moment, Lorelai lifted the baby a bit higher so his mouth could line up with her nipple.

The baby fussed a little when Lorelai removed the pacifier from his mouth, not happy that it was gone, and he protested, whining as Lorelai adjusted his body and once he felt his mother's nipple grazing his bottom lip, he relaxed a little, opening his mouth on instinct. Lorelai's face lit up when he latched on.

Both parents waited a moment in antication, their eyes glued on the baby, waiting for his cheeks to move back and forth.

"I guess he doesn't want it." Lorelai concluded. Despite her mother's words, she was still sad.

"Can I try something?" Luke asked remembering something he saw on, _A Baby Story, _once.

Lorelai nodded and Luke quickly reached over to grab the pacifier that sat on the bed. He looped his finger through the handle, lifting the binky and bringing it to the edge of his baby's still mouth.

Feeling the familiar object, his little mouth started moving in an effort to get to it and both Luke and Lorelai smiled as he drank. Luke let the pacifier linger for a moment longer, before pulling it away slowly and he smiled in triumph when the baby's mouth kept moving.

"He's doing it." Lorelai awed. "Thank you." She said, looking up to give Luke a watery smile.

He nodded, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"I just hope this isn't a one time thing.

"But if it is, it's okay."

Lorelai nodded, thinking back to what her mother said. As long as he was happy, that's all that matters. If he ended up being happy with the bottle, than she knew she would be okay with that. She really did just want her baby to be happy.

_Later..._

"Night big guy." Luke smiled own at his son who just dozed off in the carrier.

"Man, I'm so tired." Lorelai sighed as she got comfortable in bed. "What a day, huh?"

Luke nodded in agreement as he walked around to turn the far lamp off. "Don't forget the remote." She reminded him just before he passed it "Oh, and the list too." Thankfully, Luke didn't have to double back because he was more than ready to just collapse for the night.

"It's next to you." He said, jerking his chin towards to the night stand where the paper sat.

"Oh right." She remembered, reaching for it just as Luke was lying down next to her. It was a little tight in the twin bed, but neither of the liked sleeping without the other, so they made it work.

Once she had the list in hand, Lorelai got comfortable, and her hand found the power button on the remote to turn the TV on before she looked down at the paper.

"No, not this again." Luke groaned.

"What?" Lorelai asked the volume off and her attention on the paper in her hands.

"Jon and kids, or Kate and eight, or what ever the hell this is." Luke said. She watched this every week while she was pregnant. TLC seemed to be the only thing she watched, with all the baby shows they had on.

Lorelai looked up to find Jon and Kate plus eight playing on the television, the camera focused on a little boy.

"Oh my God!" She gapsed.

"What?"

"Aaden." Lorelai awed, looking between the list, the baby, and the TV. "That's his name, his name is Aaden."

"Who? Him?" Luke asked, pointing to the TV, he still couldn't remember the names of the kids.

"And him." She said, pointing to their sleeping son.

"You want to name him Aaden?"

Lorelai nodded, a smile forming on her lips as her mind tested out the words. "Aaden William." She said aloud.

"Aaden William it is." Luke nodded as his eyes closed to go to sleep.

Lorelai quickly crumbled up the paper in her hands, then threw it across the room and in to he garbage can. They didn't need it anymore. Her baby had a name.

.. to be continued..

Please Please REVIEW!!!


	3. The Wonder That Is Kirk

**Chapter Three: The Wonder That Is Kirk**

And a special thank you to, **Goddess of the Rain Pixie**, for beta-ing this chapter. Thank you so much!

And as always, here's the review responses for those who reviewed annoymous.

**Susan- **Yay! Thank you! I'm so glad you like it!

**Rai Rai- **Oh, I love to hear that! It makes me happy to hear that the seventh season has another fan : ). And as long as you don't hate the name, I'm okay with that, lol. Thank you for reviewing!

**Sutton- **Yeah, Lorelai's nerved did play a part, they did make the situation worse, but my thinking is its more of the baby, just him being stubborn and undecided and cranky- just a baby, lol. So yeah, it did get better once Lorelai got some perspective and took a time out from the breast feeding. Thank for reviewing!

**Chapter Three...**

Lorelai couldn't stop smiling, from the moment she woke up in the morning; she hasn't been able to keep the smile from her face. Even if Donald Trump himself came waltzing into her room, offering her a million dollars if she would just complete the simple task of wiping the happy grin from her lips, she wouldn't be able to; she'd have to decline his offer. She almost wanted to burst out singing this incredibly corny song; the lyrics filling her mind as she stood over the bed, busy packing up her things to go home- that's how thrilled she was. That's how great this day was.

"You're happy too, aren't you little guy?" Lorelai cooed at the baby boy who was lying contently on the bed in front of her. He had recently finished eating and that seemed to sooth him, relax him. At least for the immediate time after feeding, he was perfectly okay with just hanging out and observing his surroundings. "You get to go home today Aaden. You get to see your pretty- no sorry, manly," she corrected herself, grinning, knowing Luke would protest. He would say men, and anything related to them, are not pretty. "room. It's yellow, but don't worry, not a bright, neon, in your face yellow. It's a nice color. Toned down, very manly." Lorelai assured her son with a definite nod. "And your daddy built you a custom made rocking chair with your name on it and everything." She smiled as she folded a pair of sweats, then placed them in the open suitcase to her right, on the bed. "Well, your last name anyway. We didn't know you were a boy, so it just says, Little Danes, and its the cutest thing, just like you, you know you're cute don't you Aaden, yes you do." She grinned down at the baby. "But if by some very small chance you don't like the chair, please just pretend you do, okay? Daddy worked really hard on it." Lorelai explained, her eyes on her son as she did. Aaden just continued giving his mom a blank look as he remained silent. "Oh! And teddy bears! How could I forget the teddy bears!" The older Danes exclaimed as she leaned forward to kiss the baby's wensy stomach. Aaden kicked his legs out in excitement. "You like that, don't you?" Lorelai smiled, looking down to find her baby's blue eyes looking back at her as his antsy body moved beneath her. "Yeah, mommy knows how to make you smile." She grinned before moving her bead back down to nuzzle his tummy.

"Hey." A voice called.

Lorelai titled her head up to find find her husband coming through the door. "Hi daddy." She greeted him, using a little baby voice.

Luke shook his head at her antics as he walked further into the room. "That _might_ work, and I stress might, if he was a girl."

Lorelai grinned, repeating her previous words, but using a deeper voice this time. "Better?"

"Nope." Luke shook his head as he came to a stop in front of her. "Here." He said, reaching to give her the coffee that she requested.

"I don't want decaf." Lorelai whined before the cup was even in her hand.

"Okay," Luke shrugged, reaching his hand out to take the cup back but before he could get close enough, Lorelai moved her arm behind her back.

"Keep away from the coffee!" She warned while taking two steps back and keeping the coffee safely behind her as she did.

"You said you didn't want it!" Luke threw up his hands in defense.

"But I didn't say I wouldn't drink it!" Lorelai shot back. "Poor sad, pathetic decaf." She sympathized, bringing the cup around in front of her face. "No one wants you."

"Yeah, including you." Luke said duly as he walked past her to get to the now fussy baby. The new parents learned pretty quickly that Aaden was not too fond of loud noises, even just the t.v sometimes bothered him.

During the first night, Aaden had fallen asleep on his mother's chest after eating. And despite all the warnings she had received about letting a newborn sleep in the bed because of the habits it could cause, Lorelai didn't want to put him down in the cradle, which yes, was part laziness, but really, she just wanted to hold her baby.

After making the decision to keep him with her, Lorelai took a moment to get comfortable, being careful to make her movements minimal as she did, not wanting to disturb the baby, and once she was satisfied with her position, she settled in to go to sleep.

She was surprised when sleep didn't come. She knew she was tired, the repeated yawns that escaped her mouth proved that she was more than ready for sleep, but after almost an hour, Lorelai gave up. Of course, when she looked down at her baby, her frustrations melted away. She took a moment to watch as he took breath after breath; his little body rising and falling with each new one and Lorelai couldn't help but smile. She was so mesmerized by him.

Her eyes came to land on his little chubby face; his cute little cheeks that she just wanted to touch all the time. And so, not able to resist temptation, Lorelai brought one hand to stroke his cheek while her other reached for the small blanket that was on the night stand. In the process, she knocked down the remote, and the power button must have hit the floor, because in that moment, the television came on.

It wasn't too loud, but certainly loud enough to be heard and not ten seconds later, Aaden started to move in protest to the noise. Lorelai tried to rock him, wincing as she prayed that he wouldn't wake up, but of course, her efforts failed.

His cried started off weak; just whining and then with each passing second, the whining grew in confidence, transforming into full out cries.

Of course, the sound didn't wake Luke, he always slept through anything. Lorelai knew once he was out, he was dead to the world.

It took a little while for her to get the baby back to sleep, and even longer for her to go off to dream land, but if anything, that night proved that Aaden inherited her sleeping habits. She couldn't' sleep with noise around her. She was a light sleeper. That's why she never bothered with a T.V in her room.

"Well I miss my coffee." Lorelai frowned, bringing sad eyes down to look at the cup.

"I know." Luke answered absentmindedly. His attention was gone from her the moment he caught site of his little boy.

"You so like him better than me." Lorelai teased as she took a few steps to sit on the opposite side of Aaden, on the bed.

"Was your mom being too loud?" Luke sympathized, his palm over the baby's small stomach, gently rocking his body back and forth.

"Don't try and turn my son against me!" Lorelai warned.

"What? You want this?" Luke asked, watching as Aaden tried to ball up his fingers enough so they could fit into his mouth.

The baby's father watched for a moment longer, then reached behind him to pick up the pacifier that was lying on the bed and once he had the handle, he brought the nipple to graze Aaden's bottom lip and the baby's eager mouth opened wider. Luke smiled as he held the Binky in place, watching as Aaden sucked peacefully, his blue eyes closing as he did.

"If I didn't like you two so much, I'd be very mad that you're completely ignoring me!" Lorelai pouted.

"What?" Luke asked, a big smile on his face as he watched his son.

Lorelai sighed in contentment as a happy smile covered her face as well. Her husband and son had manged to grow very close in the last three days and Lorelai loved it. She loves seeing them together She loved to watch Luke be a dad. She loved to watch him be a dad to their son. It was so perfect, It really was. Sometimes Lorelai was so afraid that everything was just a dream, one big, too perfect dream. She just hoped that no one would pinch her.

"Nothing." She shook her head, smiling at the two.

**Later, Stars Hollow...**

"And that's Miss Patty's, she teaches dance, and that's the park, see the swings and the slide," Lorelai explained as she pointed out the window. " and that's your daddy's diner, the best coffee in the world is in that place, and that's the square," she went on, turning to the other side, continuing on with the tour of the town. " and that's Kirk in a giant diaper- wait, what?" She questioned what she just saw. "Luke, turn around."

"Nope." He shook his head, knowing that nothing good would come from turning around.

"Luke!" Lorelai whined.

"He's holding a giant radle, Lorelai." He tried to reason.

"And I wanna know why he's holding a giant radle."

"Probably has something to do with the sign."

"What sign?" Lorelai asked, looking over her should to see what he was takling about, but the square was already out of site when she did.

"The sign on the Gazebo."

"Oh, I didn't see it." Lorelai said sadly. "What'd it say?" She asked, brining her eyes back in front of her.

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"But you saw it." She argued.

"Yes." Luke agreed.

"And the words, I'm assuming there were words."

Luke nodded.

"Well..." Lorelai trailed, wanting him to fill in the blanks.

"I don't know, it said congratulations, or something."

"Oh, it's for the baby! It's for you little guy!" Lorelai smiled down at her son. "Come on Luke, turn around, please. They made a sign for Aaden, for your son, we have to say thank you."

"For putting up a stupid sign? Anyone can put up a sign, it isn't that hard."

"But only Kirk is dumb enough to dress like a giant baby and stand right in the middle of town where everyone can see him, we have to say thank you. And besides, there was something I saw in his hand."

"Yeah, a giant radle, we've been over this."

"No, his other hand. It looked like he was giving out flyers or something. I wanna know what they say Luke, pleaassee." She begged and Luke could hear the pout in her voice, he didn't need to glance up into the rear view mirror to see, but his suspicions were confirmed when he couldn't help his eyes from looking.

"Fine." He gave up, sighing as he made a U turn to head back into town.

"And mommy wins again!" Lorelai exclaimed victoriously as she looked down at her son. "See baby, you just have to know how to work him, and then anything is yours." She cooed as she brought her hand down to stroked Aaden's cheek.

"Hey! I'm not that easy!" Luke said defensively.

"Oh, I beg to differ." Lorelai grinned. "You're pretty willing when the sun's down... and when its up..." She said thoughtfully. "So basically any time of day, you're ready to go." She laughed.

"You aware that there's a kid in the car?"

"Yes." Lorelai nodded. "Why?" She giggled. "You think that would stop me? Even if he was old enough to understand a word I'm saying, you really think that would stop me?"

"I must be crazy to think you'd keep it PG with a baby around." He said sarcastically.

"Yup, you're crazy." Lorelai agreed.

Luke just let out a long breath as he continued driving.

**The Square...**

"Lorelai!" Kirk exclaimed when he saw his neighbor approaching him.

"Hey Kirk." She smiled.

"Where's the baby." He frowned.

"Oh, he's in the car with Luke."

"But I wanna see him." Kirk whined.

"You tell me why you're in a giant diaper, and I'll let you see the baby." She bargained.

"Deal." He nodded enthusiastically, eager to see the new addition to the Danes family.

The town, except for Sookie, Liz and Lane, of course, had stayed away from the hospital while Lorelai and Luke were there. They didn't want to over load the hospital. They wanted to give the new parents a little time alone before they got home. Then there would be no avoiding it.

"Here." He said, reaching to give her one of the blue flyers from the pile he held.

Lorelai gave him a quick thank you smile, then she brought her eyes down the read the contents of the paper. It was requesting attendance for the, Welcome Home Baby Danes, party that was scheduled to be held tomorrow at either the diner or the Danes Home.

"You haven't decided yet?" Lorelai asked, wincing as she thought about what Luke would say when she told him about this. She knew he wouldn't be too happy. She figured though, like herself, he already had a pretty good idea about what the flyer said. So she hoped telling him wouldn't' be a total surprise.

"No, Patty wanted to give you options, you know, with the baby and everything, she wasn't sure if he could be out yet with all the germs flying around, but than she wasn't sure if you would want people in your house, because it will be messy, so Taylor suggested the diner, that way, you and Luke could just bring the baby upstairs if he gets cranky or something, because I don't know if you know, but babies can get very cranky at the drop of a hat, whatever that means. I never got the, drop of a hat, thing, but I heard it on t.v, so it must make sense, right?"

"Right." Lorelai nodded, wanting him to finish up.

"So anyway, encase he gets cranky or something, there would be somewhere for him to go and there's food in the diner, so..." He shrugged. "So please pick one and get back to Miss Patty the moment you decide."

"Okay." Lorelai sighed. "I'll talk to Luke."

"Mrs Casini, do you wanna vote!" Joe called.

Lorelai looked over Kirk's shoulder to see the man seated behind a table in the Gazebo.

"Oh, yes!" The old woman smiled excitedly.

"Kirk?" She asked suspiciously.

"Yes?" He smiled brightly.

"What is she voting for?" Lorelai asked while pointing to the table.

"Oh, the name of your baby." He answered easily.

"The name of my baby." She repeated slowly, trying to understand

"No one knows the name, so all the possible ones are listed by the voting box, just the boys ones though, because we all know it's a boy, so all the boys names are listed and people have been voting all day. I came up with the idea, mother was very proud when I suggested it." He beamed.

"So you were able to get thirty possible names, but over the course of the three days, you couldn't pick up his actual name?"

"Well Taylor said no one could go to the hospital, but Sookie was allowed to go because she's your best friend, so when she came back the first day, we asked her the name and she said she didn't know and that's when I came up with the idea." He explained. "I was gonna make my own list, I heard you mention a few names over the years that I've known you, an example being Bert-"

"-Luke's tool box?" She interrupted.

"Tool box?" Kirk questioned.

Lorelai nodded. "Yes, Bert. Rory and I named Luke's tool box Bert, years ago."

"Oh, so that's who you were talking to." Kirk awed with realization.

Lorelai shook her head at her crazy neighbor.

"So how'd you get the names?" Lorelai asked, getting back on track.

"Oh, Sookie told me."

"Right." Lorelai nodded.

"And Lane helped because Sookie couldn't remember them all."

"Well, that's good." She smiled. "But you knew we were coming home today, right?" She asked, making sure.

"Right." The man nodded.

"And I have the baby with me." She said, gesturing to the jeep behind her. "And I'm sure, even you can conclude, that by now, I had to come up with a name for my baby, right? I wouldn't bring home a nameless baby, than what would I say when he's been crying for hours and I need something to call him when I yell at him, because it can't always be a cuss word, you know." Lorelai explained.

"Of course." Kirk nodded in agreement.

"So he has a name... right now... as we speak, the newest member of the Danes family, has a name..." Lorelai trailed, waiting for the light bulb to go off in Kirk's head.

She sighed after a moment, realizing that that was a pipe dream.

"I can tell you the name Kirk!" She exclaimed.

"No! Don't!" He stopped her. "The big reveal is set for tomorrow, at the party, so until then, you can only say the name to Luke and the baby- that is if Luke knows the name, Ijust assumed he did."

"Yes Kirk, he knows the name of his baby." Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"And Rory and Sookie, do they know?"

Lorelai nodded.

"Joe! Rory knows! Cross her off the list!"

"Got it!" He called back.

"You think I wouldn't tell my daughter her brother's name?"

"It's possible." He nodded seriously. "What about Lane?"

"Everyone who has been to the hospital, knows the name Kirk."

"Okay, thank you Lorelai." He said in a very businessman's like tone as he turned to say something to Joe. Speaking in some weird code that Lorelai didn't even bother trying to understand.

"So I'll uh, see ya later Kirk." Lorelai said, thinking that Luke was right. That should have just kept on driving.

"Wait!" He exclaimed

Lorelai turned around to look at him questioningly.

"You said I could see the baby." He pouted.

"Oh, right." She nodded. "Come on, he's in the car."

"I'm coming!" Kirk called back as he ran -very awkwardly, looking like he had a wedgie or a sun burn on his thighs, because the diaper was in the way- to catch up with Lorelai.

"_Prepare yourself baby, you're about to meet the wonder that is Kirk."_

**Meanwhile, Yale...**

"I can't believe them!" Lane exclaimed with frustration as her and Rory walked side by side, through the campus. "Ants! Our apartment is being invaded by ants! Right now, as we speak, it's being taken over by ants!"

"And in a few hours, the big bad exterminators will come and kill them all." Rory grinned, before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah." Lane sulked as they walked through the newspaper room.

"You know, they could have stayed with me too." Rory said.

"They don't deserve to stay with you! They deserve that basement!" Lane yelled, still fuming about the situation. "It's their fault we have ants. They're the ones always leaving food around, they never clean up after themselves, never! And now they get to suffer the consequences!"

"I don't think Brian's parent's basement is that much of a consequence." Rory winced as she set her bag down on her desk and pulled out the chair to sit. "There's video games, ping-pong, darts, air hockey, giant plasma T.V- boys love giant plasma T.V's."

"Yeah, your right." Lane sighed as she sat behind her friend, on the radiator. "But they will have to suffer without band practice for the next two days because we can't get to our instruments which the ants are probably running all over right now, leaving their mark!"

"Ew." Rory winced, her finger pressing the power button on the computer and the machine came humming to life.

"We were suppose to do a gig tonight and now, because of them, we can't!" Lane went on, letting out her anger. "I mean it wasn't anything big, just a twelve years birthday party, but that's not the point! It was still a gig, a paying gig and now we have nothing to play with, and if we have nothing to play with,we can't play, and if we can't play, we don't get payed, and ifwe don't get payed then Zack won't be able to buy that extra box of beer! So ha Zack! No beer for you!"

"You want me to get Luke to beat 'em up for ya? I'm his stepdaughter, so that's gotta get me some pull." Rory offered as she went through her bag, looking for a disk.

"It may come to that." Lane warned

"I think I left it at home." Rory sighed as she lifted her head up from her bag a moment later.

"Left what?"

"The disk, it had my article on it, I just needed to print out, which I couldn't do at home because my printer was out of ink."

"I can go back to Stars Hollow and get it if you want." Lane offered.

"No, I can just bring it when I come back tomorrow, but I don't know, maybe I dropped it or something, I'll be right back." Rory said as she stood up from her chair and headed out into the hall, just wanting to make sure it didn't fall out of her bag while her and Lane were walking.

"Okay." Lane called after her.

Rory came to a stop once she was outside of the newspaper room, taking a moment to mentally retrace her steps.

"Maybe I really should start carrying bread crumbs with me everywhere I go." She sighed, thinking back to the several times her mom has complained about not having any bread crumbs for situations just like these.

She sighed after a moment, realizing that her best bet would be to just follow the hall out into the main building and then to the parking lot. She was pretty sure that was the only ground her and Lane covered.

Nodding at the thought, Rory took off, her eyes scanning the floor as she went.

"Ha! Yes! Found you!" She gloated victoriously a few minutes later when she saw the disk laying on the floor, by the coffee cart. She realized that it must have fallen out of her bag when she went through it to get money to pay for the coffee.

Once she got close enough, she bent down on the floor to pick it up but before she could get in her pocket, her hand stopped when she heard a familiar name being said, the noise coming from behind her.

"... yeah, we had the best time, didn't we Marty." A girls voice said. "Oh and look at this ring!" She gloated. "We just set the date for August, we were both born in August so we thought it would be cool, right honey?"

"Marty?" Rory whispered in question, thinking there was no way she could be talking to her Marty. He had left about a year go, during junior year to take some time to travel through Europe. He had told Rory that he was just leaving for a semester, that he would be back in the summer to finish out his junior year and still be able to start up his senior year in September, but summer and the first semester of senior year passed by and no Marty.

"Right." He said back.

And then she knew. That was him. She would know his voice anywhere.

... To be continued...

**Please Please REVIEW!**


	4. Bringing Home Baby

**Chapter Four**

And to, **Masha, **who reviewed ann, **Yeah, Kirk in a giant diaper- it was just a matter of time, lol. Thank you so much for reviewing!!**

And of course, a special thank you to Rover!! Everyone take a moment to say thank you, Rover, who beta-ed this chapter in record time!!

And here we go, chapter four.

**Chapter Four: Bringing Home Baby...**

"No." Luke shook his head firmly, shooting her idea- well the town's idea, down for what had to be the thirtieth time by now, as he walked through the front door.

Lorelai sighed as she sped up her pace to keep up with his. "But Luke-"

"-He's four days old, Lorelai." He said, as if she needed reminding.

"I know." She nodded in understanding as she followed him down the hall.

"He could get sick, all those people around him." Luke winced at the thought. "He's more prone to viruses now, his immune system isn't fully formed yet, he shouldn't be out." He repeated what he read in at least a dozen books and magazines.

"You're saying this like I don't know. If you remember, I had a kid before this. I know his immune system is weak, I know that, but this doesn't have to be a big thing. You know everyone who would be at this party would just ending up coming over anyway, but this way, we'd get it all done in one shot, that's it. And you know we can't say no. These are our neighbors; our friends—we can't say no." She finished her tone soft but firm.

Luke sighed. He knew she was right.

He looked down to bring hesitant eyes to the sleeping baby that was in his car seat. He was so bundled up in blankets because of the cold weather that all Luke could see was a little chubby baby face. The rest of his body was just a bundle of navy blue, wrapped up in the zip up sort of jacket that came with the car seat. Luke thought that Aaden just looked so peaceful, so content. Everything was okay.

Truthfully, Luke just didn't want to risk getting his newborn sick. That's all. To put it simply, he was scared. He had never done this before.

"Luke." Lorelai called softly as she lifted her to hand to take his. "He'll be okay." She assured him, watching the struggle he was going through. "Nothing will happen to him. He's a newborn, yes, but he isn't a piece of glass; he isn't that fragile."

Luke let out a breath as he tore his gaze from Aaden to bring his eyes up to Lorelai.

"If you really don't want to, we won't." Lorelai gave in, knowing that this was more than just him being stubborn and unsociable. He really was scared.

"No," Luke shook his head. "We'll do it." He said firmly while mentally trying to convince himself that this was a good idea.

He's read some books, flipped through some magazines, seen a few reality parenting shows; he knew about SIDS and all that and he knew it could happen to anyone. To any baby. Even their baby—no matter how careful he and Lorelai could be, something things just couldn't be avoided or prevented—party or not.

"Yeah?" Lorelai questioned, smiling as she looked at him with hopeful eyes.

Luke nodded.

"Thank you." She said sincerely. "And don't worry; there will be a very thorough screening process to get through that door." She turned her head, pointing to the front door behind her.

"Lorelai," Luke sighed, thinking she as just teasing him.

"No, I mean it. Even a sniffle and they don't get in. No germs will go near baby." She promised.

"Good." Luke nodded, grinning at his wife.

_Yale..._

"Hey, did you find it?" Lane asked when she saw Rory come through the newspaper room.

Still stunned by what she saw—well heard, Rory just held up the disk to show Lane that she did find what she was looking for.

"What's wrong?" Lane's concerned voice asked.

Rory shook her head, but couldn't stop the words from escaping. "I-he-Europe-Ring-he-I-" She stuttered.

"Slow down." Lane laughed, as she stopped her and ushered for Rory to take a seat in the chair in front of her desk, so she did just that. "Now, what happened?"

She took a breath before going on. "You remember Marty?" Lane nodded. "Well he left last year, to go through Europe or something with his cousin, James, I think is his name, and he was suppose to come back in June, but he didn't—he didn't come back at all—until now that is."

"He's back?!" Lane smiled.

"Yeah." Rory nodded and Lane furrowed her eyebrows in confusion when Rory didn't seem excited that her friend was back.

"Is this not a good thing?"

"He's engaged." Rory deadpanned while meeting Lane's gaze.

"What?!" Lane exclaimed while jumping up from the radiator.

"I know!" Rory nodded.

"Who is she?"

"I don't even know. I couldn't see her face, but I don't' think she goes here. I mean she must not go here if she's engaged to Marty and he's just coming back now, unless she went with him, but I don't remember him talking about bringing a girl with him, just James. I mean he didn't have a girlfriend when he left—at least I don't think he did." Rory frowned, searching her memory for any recollection of a girlfriend.

She gave up a moment later when no girl's name came to mind. She knew though, that she didn't have a lot to go off of. She and Marty's relationship really went downhill after that night, a few years back, when he told her that he had feelings for her, and in turn, she told him that she liked Logan.

After that, things just weren't he same between them. It was awkward being together, trying to hang out like they used to, so they really didn't much until it got to the point where they only saw each other during the one class that they had together. It was twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays and aside from the once in a while pass in the hallway, those two days were the only times when they had contact.

And then, while he was in Europe, she hadn't seen or spoken to him at all.

"Well, maybe she doesn't go here, maybe he met her in Europe." Lane said, thinking out loud.

"Maybe." Rory nodded. "She didn't have an accent though, so maybe she was just a tourist or something and they met somewhere, and wow."

"What?"

"If they met in Europe, the most they could have known each other was a year. Who gets married after a year?"

"Zach and I." Lane shrugged.

"That's different, you guys knew each other for years before that, same as Luke and mom, but Marty, he just gets engaged, just like that, after five minutes of dating—that is if they even dated at all. Maybe they just had a thing one night in Paris and that is the city of romance, so you never know. I'm surprised they didn't come back married and pregnant."

"Oh my God!" Lane gasped

"What?" Rory asked, giving her confused look at the sudden outburst.

"You're jealous." Lane concluded, without a hint of doubt in her voice as she did.

"What?!" Rory said with wide eyes. "No, I'm not." She shook her head.

"Yes you are!"

"No, I'm not! I'm just curious, that's all. I mean he leaves, for a year, without any contact and suddenly comes back engaged—if you were me, wouldn't that make you curious?" Rory reasoned.

"Or jealous." Lane shrugged, grinning.

"Lane," Rory warned.

"Okay, okay," She gave in, holding her hands up in surrender.

"Can we just drop this, please? I have an article to finish."

Lane nodded. "Subject dropped."

"Thank you." Rory sighed as she turned to face the computer.

"For now." Lane added.

_Danes Home..._

"Twenty nine message, well aren't we popular today." Lorelai sighed when she caught side of the flashing answering machine.

"Delete 'em." Luke answered absentmindedly while he was busy feeding Aaden a bottle. Lorelai was still breastfeeding, but she started pumping because the baby seemed to like the bottle sometimes, and this way, Luke was able to feed him as well.

"Well I have to listen to 'em first."

"You're gonna listen to twenty nine messages?"

"Whoever called, took the time to leave a message, so I should take the time to listen to it—to them. They're probably about the baby, congratulations and stuff." She said as her finger reached for the play button.

And as Lorelai predicted, the bulk of the messages were in fact strictly congratulations towards the new Danes baby; ranging from Lorelai's fourth cousin, Bobby, courtesy of her mother, she was sure, to the locals in town, who wanted to share their excitement over the baby.

Almost half and hour later, the last message was playing; Kirk's voice talking through the machine, going on about the party that was set for tomorrow. He was basically saying everything that he had told Lorelai earlier, so she cut him off before he could finish. Then she reached for the phone to start making some return calls. Of course she wasn't planning on calling everyone back; thanks could be given tomorrow, at the party, but there were a few, like Rory and Sookie, who she wanted to talk to now.

As she went to dial her mother's number, wanting to get that call out of the way first because she figured it would most likely be the quickest, Lorelai glanced over to the living room and she couldn't help the smile that took over her lips when she saw her husband and son sleeping together. Little Aaden lying on Luke's chest while his daddy's arms were holding the baby protectively to him.

She let her gaze stay there as the phone her mother's end rang, not able to wipe the grin from her face at the site of her son's small body in comparison to his daddy's bigger one. She's been calling her son a little sack of potatoes and that little sack was rising and falling a bit with every in take and release of breath that Luke took. It was adorable.

"Hello." A voice called, bringing Lorelai back from the trance she was caught up in.

"Hi, hello, is um, Emily there?" She shook her head, trying to get back on track.

"May I ask whose speaking?"

"Yes, its' her daughter, Lorelai, I'm returning her call."

"Okay, please hold on a minute." The maid said politely before putting the phone down.

Lorelai nodded at the woman's answer and on that note, she let her eyes travel back to the living room.

She stared for no more than three seconds before the light bulb went of in her head. She knew she should capture this moment on film. Besides the fact that it could be used as blackmail, it was very cute and would make the perfect addition to the baby photo album that Lorelai already started in the hospital. It was a gift that April bought with her when she came to see her new baby brother.

They hadn't unpacked anything yet, so the camera was still in the diaper bag which was currently sitting on the kitchen table.

Carrying the cordless phone to her ear, Lorelai rushed down the hall and made a beeline for the table. Once she reached the bag, she quickly reached her hand in and retrieved the camera in seconds, her hands knowing that it was kept in the outside zipper pocket.

With the camera in her hand, Lorelai left the kitchen just as fast as she had come.

And just as the picture was being taken, her mother's voice came through.

"Hello Lorelai." The older woman smiled.

"Hi mom." Lorelai smiled back, her eyes glued to the small display screen on her digital camera. "So I got your message, and your offer to move Friday night dinner here actually works out greet because we'll be having a little party for the baby here. Everyone's coming over for a little meet and greet sort of thing, and you and dad are more than welcome to come."

"A party?" Emily frowned.

"Yeah, you know, for the baby." Lorelai explained.

"You're telling me that you're going to let all of Stars Hollow crowd your home when you have a newborn there?" She questioned.

Lorelai sighed; she should have known this was coming.

"Well not all of Stars Hollow, I did manage to accumulate some enemies over the years." Lorelai shot back. "Although you know what they say, keep your friends close, but your enemies' closer, so who knows, maybe I'll have to change things. Check in with the bouncer; tell him to toss away that list I gave him. Just let everyone in, that's probably a better way to go anyway, don't ya think? Wouldn't wanna exclude people, it be high school all over again." She laughed.

"This is not a joking matter Lorelai." Emily scolded her daughter. "How can you be that foolish? Do you know how dangerous that could be? He could get sick Lorelai, is that what you want? For your newborn baby to get sick? I think your party can wait a few weeks until his body has time to get stronger."

"This party is for him mother, and I already had this discussion with Luke, I'm not having it with you and I don't have to, he's our son; mine and Luke's and we want to have this party for him, that's it. I know what I'm doing and I don't have to defend my actions to you, that's it." Lorelai finished with a sigh. "Now the party's here, at two ish, come if you want, if not, that's fine, I don't care, it's your call, doesn't make a difference to me."

"But Lorelai—" She tried to protest.

"Goodbye mother." Lorelai cut Emily off before she could finish and with a frustrated sigh, she set the phone back down on its cradle.

_Yale..._

Lane and Rory had spent most of the day in the newspaper room while Rory worked on some assignments for the paper and before leaving for the day to go back to Stars Hollow, they stopped at the dinning hall to get something to eat for dinner.

"Hey Lane, why don't we just go. We can pick something up on the way home, or just go to Luke's or even Al's Pancake world, he's doing a Switzerland thing this month that sounds cool, right?" Rory smiled, trying to convince her to leave after catching site of Marty and his mystery fiancé, sitting at a table near the window. Of course, the girl's back was to Rory, so she couldn't see her face.

She wasn't sure why she wanted to leave, she just didn't want to be the position to talk to Marty right now, she thought it might be weird.

"He's here, isn't he?" Lane said knowingly.

"Who?" Rory asked, trying to play dumb as she looked around aimlessly.

"Come on," Lane grinned as she took Rory's wrist. "We'll leave, but you can't avoid him forever." She sang.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh huh." Lane nodded.

_Later... Danes Home..._

"Hey." Luke smiled as he poked his head into the nursery to find Lorelai sitting in the rocking chair with their son huddled close to her body as he had a late night snack.

"Hey." Lorelai looked up to give him a lazy smile as her hand was busy stroking the baby's moving cheek.

"How's he doing?" Luke asked as he walked further into the dark room; the only light coming from the small lamp that was on the dresser

"Just finishing up, I think." Lorelai reported as she brought her gaze back down to look at the baby.

"That was fast." Luke said, keeping his tone soft as she looked down at Aaden who seemed to be falling back asleep.

"Yeah, I don't think he was hungry, I think he just likes this to fall asleep." Lorelai said.

The baby had gone to sleep about two hours ago; a little after nine, and the new parents thought that they were lucky when he was out that early. They thought they might able to at least get a few hours in—well they were wrong. Although they did manage to get in just about two hours, and for that, they were thankful.

Of course, they knew that Aaden wouldn't be out for the night, but they had hoped that he would sleep just a little longer than he did, but they also know to expect the unexpected—well Lorelai does. She knows though, that Luke will too, given time.

"Why don't you bring him inside, come lay down." Luke urged her. It was past eleven and while yes, this was always late for him, it wasn't for Lorelai, but with the past couple of days, he knew she was tired—exhausted. He had a feeling that eleven would start to become late for both of them.

"I think he's out." Lorelai concluded after watching the baby for moment and finding that his mouth had stilled. "For now, anyway." She grinned.

When Luke saw that she was about to stand up, he stood up from the ottoman for the rocking chair; putting his hand on the small of Lorelai's back as he followed her to crib.

Lorelai held the baby away from her body once she reached the opening of the crib. She gently placed him down on the teddy bear covered mattress, right in the middle.

Aaden moved a bit, not liking the change of location, but Luke was quick to react, expecting the baby to protest before he even went down. It was something Luke noticed. He always shifted around a little after being moved, but hardly ever woke up.

Luke put his hand to Aaden's small stomach and rocked his body back and forth, just like he had done many times in the hospital and after a minute, the baby settled down.

"Look at him." Lorelai whispered in awe as she leaned back against her husband's chest, gazing adoringly at the little baby in the crib.

Luke smiled, leaning his head on Lorelai's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her stomach.

"He looks so much like you." Lorelai said a she watched her son sleep. "You do that too when you sleep, with your hand, when it isn't around me, it's on your stomach." She grinned.

Luke laughed at the comment as he brought his eyes down to look at Aaden. The baby had his right arm up, bent at the elbow and his hand was balled into a loose fist, resting just inches away from his face and his left hand was thrown lazily over his stomach.

"My two boys." Lorelai grinned happily, as she turned in Luke's arms to face him.

"I'm not a boy." Luke shook his head in protest to the name. "I haven't been a boy for a long time."

"I'm sorry, you're right." She nodded, placating him. "My two men." She corrected herself.

"He's not a man." Luke said, pointing his index finger at the sleeping boy. "He's a baby."

"My two babies, how's that?" She asked, smirking.

"Lorelai.." He warned.

"You have three choices, pick one please, or else I will." She sang.

Luke thought for a moment before giving her an answer.

"Men." He decided.

"Good boy." Lorelai smiled while wrapping her arms around his torso and laying her head on his chest.

"Lorelai," He warned again, keeping his tone low as he looked down at her.

"Come on big boy, let's go to bed." She cooed while releasing her hold on him, sliding her right arm down his left as she parted from him, only left with his hand in hers.

"Did ya hear the part where I said men and not boys?" He asked as she dragged him through the room.

"Yes. I did." Lorelai nodded.

"But you're calling me boy anyway, to annoy me?"

"Yes, I am." She nodded as they left the room and entered there's.

"You're a piece a work, you know that." He shook his head, that was spinning, trying to keep up with her.

"Yes, I know." She grinned as she went to get back in bed, but Luke stopped her before she could.

"Oh hey, I went to plug in your phone, I think you got a missed call or something, it was vibrating." Luke shrugged.

Lorelai's eyes perked up and Luke saw her mouth opening to say something.

"Don't say dirty!" He stopped her.

Lorelai giggled as she turned away from her bed and to the dresser while Luke went the other way.

When she got there, she saw that there was a missed call from more than two hours ago. She went to voice mail, punched in her pin number, then brought the phone to her ear to listen.

She brought her palm to her forehead, sighing in frustration when she heard that it was Chris who called.

.. to be continued...

Please Please **REVIEW!!**


	5. The Drink That Keeps Spilling

**Chapter Five:**

_Friday.. Danes Home..._

"I'm here!" Sookie shouted as she threw open the door so her two kids could run ahead of her.

"Kitchen!" Lorelai called back- being careful to keep her tone decent- as direction for her friend. "And warn your hubby, I'm not entirely decent at the moment!" She grinned as she looked down at the her baby who was sucking fervently on her breast. His feeding schedule had gotten a bit thrown off track when he was sleeping through breakfast time and had refused to eat when Luke woke up him. So of course, being tired and cranky, he went back to sleep, and then was crying at the top of his lungs when he finally woke up from his long nap.

Sookie giggled as she turned to wait for Jackson who was unloading the pack n play from the trunk of the car.

"Hi Aun Lorelai." Davy called shly when he reached the kitchen and caught site of her.

"Hey Davy." Lorelai smiled, looking down at the boy. "And look at you little girl." She grinned excitedly at Martha who was standing next her big brother with a sippy cup in her hand. She had been walking for a couple of months now and had recently nixed the bottle for the sippy cup.

"Hieee." The toddler spoke, saying one of the very few words that she knew.

Lorelai smiled at the greeting and returned the gesture; saying it just like Martha did- adding that extra, eee, sound at the end. "Oh man, you're getting so big." She marveled, her eyes stuck on the little girl. Martha had on these cute little pink shoes and a pink long sleeve dress to match. Lorelai also noticed that her hair was different from the last time she saw her, the girl had gotten it cut and now her little brown curls didn't quite reach her shoulders, like they used to. "You both are." Lorelai sighed as she brought her eyes to Davy. The boy seemed to be looking older every time she saw him.

"Hey." Sookie smiled as she breezed through the kitchen, carrying trays of food in her arms as she went. Most of the main dishes were cooked and ready to go, they just needed to be heated up. And there were just a few things, like appetizers and salad, that still needed to be made.

"Did you warn him?" Lorelai smirked as she looked up at her best friend who was setting the trays down.

The woman nodded while looking over her shoulder to grin at Lorelai.

"He's avoiding the hall like it's the pathway to hell." Sookie smiled wickedly.

"Highway to hell." Lorelai corrected and Sookie furrowed her brows in confusion at the comparison. "Hey, I didn't write the song, I just listen to it." She threw up her free hand in defense.

Sookie nodded with realization after mentally making the connection.

Lorelai laughed , then turned to look at up at the ceiling as she took in a breath.

"Luke! Your man-date's here!" She yelled.

"Coming!" He grumbled, just loud enough for her to hear.

Lorelai was about to call back confirmation when she was interrupted by the whining of her son who was not at all happy with the noise.

"Oh no, I'm sorry baby, don't cry." Lorelai cooed as she tried to rock the little boy before the tears had a chance to come. "Mommy keeps forgetting that you don't like loud noises, I'm sorry." She apologized, being careful to keep her voice soft as she spoke while she looked down to frown at Aaden's quivering bottom lip. She saw that water was glossed over his blue eyes when they looked up to lock on hers.

Lorelai smiled at her baby, gently pulling his head back to her chest, then bringing her finger to graze over his still lips and when Aaden felt the skin touch his lips, they started moving again. As he ate, Lorelai could feel a bit of milk escape onto her finger while he drank.

"That's the third time that I've done that today." Loerlai confessed in just above a whisper as she looked up to wince at Sookie. "I keep forgetting the loud noise thing, he doesn't like it." She sighed. "He's like daddy, aren't you little boy." She cooed while looking down to run her palm over his head. "Too much like daddy. I'm beginning to think I had nothing to do with the making of." Lorelai grinned.

Sookie laughed as she continued to unload all of her supplies. "Luke may be a tough guy, but even he isn't capable of giving birth-oh, careful Martha." She warned her daughter, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girl trying to climb up on a chair

Luke was just walking in at the moment when he saw the scene and was quick to react; gently grabbing the little girl's body and lifting her so she could sit safely.

"An you." Martha smiled up at her uncle once she was seated.

Luke returned he gesture. "You're welcome." He smiled.

"Hey, what are you doing in here, your date is out there." Lorelai said, pointing a finger towards the living room where Jackson was. "If you leave him waiting too long, he's gonna think you stood him up, then there goes prom." She grinned.

"Stop." Luke warned her, before leaning down to place kiss on his son's head. "Bye little man." He smiled, looking at Aaden with adoring eyes as he brushed his hand over the spot he kissed. Then he slowly stood back up so he was standing fully erect. "Where's the list?" He sighed.

"Purse." Lorelai answered, jerking her chin towards the counter where her bag sat.

Luke nodded, his eyes finding her bag quickly and when they did, he took five long strides to get to it.

"Hey Sookie." Luke greeted his wife's friend as he took a hold of the zipper to open up the long slit.

"Hey Luke." She smiled back

"Where in your purse? It's like trying to find a needle in a hay stack with this thing." He complained after he took a second to visually survey the contents of the bag. The pile of useless crap- well useless to him, to Lorelai, every single thing in there was a necessity- was almost spilling over the top.

"Umm." Lorelai hummed as she looked up in thought. "Outside zipper, I think.

Luke grumbled something about women, then quickly went to seek out the damn piece of paper.

"Mommy!"Davy whined as he stumped his feet in frustration.

"Mommy's busy sweetie, what's wrong?" Sookie asked while peaking over her shoulder.

"She won le me up." He grumped with a fallen face as he pointed an accusing finger at Martha, who was sitting on the kitchen chair with her legs- that just reached the edge-dangling just a bit over. Her Dora the explorer sippy cup stuck in her mouth, with her right hand holding up in the air.

"Keep cooking Sookie, I got this." Lorelai assured her friend and the woman gave her a thank you nod in return before she went back to work.

"Got it." Luke announced after finding the paper a minute later. Of course it wasn't where Loerlai said it would be, but after following her not so helpful instructions, and coming up empty, he went to try her wallet next and struck gold there "We're leaving." He said while walking through the kitchen.

"Davy, here you can sit on this chair and have it all to yourself, don't you want your own chair?" She smiled, trying to coax the boy.

He nodded shyly at his aunt and Lorelai smiled, reaching her free arm to pull out the chair that was next to her.

"Bye." Luke said, briefly stopping to peck Lorelai's check as she held the back of the chair so Davy could climb up.

"Bye hon." She called, looking up to watch him leave; her eyes lingering on his butt for a moment before she forced herself to look away when Sookie called her.

"Huh?" Lorelai asked, snapping questioning eyes to her friend.

"The salad." Sookie laughed after catching her friend staring at her man. Not that she could blame her. "Do you think I should do a Caesar thing, or just have everyone pick their own dressings? Do you even have dressing?" She asked, not waiting for an answer as she went straight for the fridge. "I know you don't eat salad, but Luke does, so you have to have dressing, right?" She rambled on as she pulled the door open.

"Vinegar?" She said a second later. "That's it?" Sookie frowned while holding up the bottle .

"Sorry sweetie." Lorelai smiled apologetically. "That's the only thing Luke puts on his salad."

"Caesar it is then." Sookie concluded as she carelessly put the vinegar bottle back on the door, then turned around to finish the party preparations.

_A Bit Later..._

"Mom." Rory called impatiently as she walked through the front door.

"Hey." Lorelai smiled, tilting her head up from the floor, where she was peering over Aaden, playing with him. "What's wrong?" She asked with concern when she saw a not so happy face on her daughter.

"Is Jess here yet?"

"No," Loerlai shook her head. "No one is, just Sookie and Jackon, why?" She asked curiously.

Rory let out a relieved sigh, letting her bag slide to the floor, then plopping down on the love seat beside her.

"Nope!" Luke protested as he came rushing from the kitchen.

"But Luke, if I could just-"

"-You're not setting up a buffet table in here, food stays in the kitchen."

"But I eat in here all of the time." Lorelai added, looking up at Luke to give him a bright smile.

"You're not helping." He said, pointing an accusing finger at his wife, who giggled in return.

"If I could just put the appetizers in here, then there'd be more room for the other food inside-"

"People eat appetizers first, don't they?" Luke asked and Sookie nodded reluctantly. "Well than appetizers go first, then the food. There, problem solved. I'll be outside." He grumped, leaving no room for argument before he turned around to finish his journey. He and Jackson were told to go put up a party banner outside.

"Lorelai!" Sookie whined to her best friend

She smiled sadly at the woman. "Sorry Sookie, the kitchen is Luke's domain, I get everything else. I thought I should be a nice wife and at least give him that."

"Fine!" She gave up dramatically. "Well do this his way." She half whined before turning around to go back to the kitchen.

Both girls couldn't help but laugh at the little show they just witnessed.

Quickly though, Lorelai sobered up and turned to look at Rory.

"Okay, spill." She ordered

"Where's the kids?" Rory asked curiously when she realized that Martha and Davy weren't in the room.

"Martha is napping upstairs and Davy is in the kitchen, now talk. Is this about the Marty thing?" She asked.

"There is no Marty _thing._" She corrected her mother. "There's just Marty, that's it. There's no _thing_. Why did you say _thing_?"

I didn't say _thing_, I said thing." Lorelai laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but when Rory just sighed at her mother's attempt, she gave in "Okay, sorry, there's no Marty thing."

"Thank you." Rory said while throwing her body against the cushion of the couch.

"Rory,please, talk." Lorelai said gently.

Before diving in, the younger woman brought her eyes to her mother's. "I ran into Marty today."

"And..." Lorelai trailed, knowing there had to be more.

"He thanked me!" She exclaimed.

"He thanked you?" Lorelai questioned as her hand rocked Aaden's belly back and forth. He wasn't too thrilled with his daddy's and Sookie's yelling before, but Lorelai was able to start soothing him before the crying started.

"Because that girl that I told you about, he met her in Rome."

"Aw, that's sweet."

"Yeah." Rory nodded reluctantly. "So anyway, he met her in Rome and apparently she's been living there for years, with family, while she went through college and that's why Marty was there longer than he planned, she just graduated a few weeks ago."

"Really? She graduated mid year?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, she said she took a semester off, remind you of anyone?" Rory asked, finishing with an annoyed sigh.

"Rory, you're past that now. You're past _him_ now."

"I know, I know, but.. ugh, he thanked me!"

"I still don't get the thanking think." Lorelai shook her head with confusion.

"Because, I'm the one who encouraged him to go to Europe. He had been saving money to do something big and he knew we went through Europe and he asked me about it and everything, and I told him how great it all was and he thanked me for Amber!"

"I'm assuming that's his fiance."

"Yes." Rory nodded.

"And I'm also assuming that you're not too happy about this." Lorelai smiled knowingly.

"What?" Rory asked confused.

"Marty and Amber. My motherly instincts tell me that you're jealous."

"Mom..." Rory warned in a half whine.

"I know, I'm not jealous." Lorelai mocked. "So you say."

"I'm with Jess." She said firmly.

Lorelai nodded, but went on to prove her point anyway. "He was your friend Rory, your very good friend, your very _single_, good friend." She stressed. "You were very important to him, you know that, you know he liked you and you were very close to him for almost two years. You never had to deal with another girl in his life, and now, suddenly, he's engaged to be married. It's only normal to be a little jealous. It doesn't necessarily mean you like him, just that you aren't used to sharing him. And now, if you're going to have any kind of relationship with him, you will. You'll have to deal with another girl." Lorelai finished with a sigh as she brought her eyes down to Aaden, who was making a sort of, ca, noise while he kicked his legs outward and moved his arms around, trying to get his mom's attention back. Lorelai gave her little boy a smile as she brought her hand back to rub his tummy.

"But it doesn't make sense though." Rory argued with a shake of her head. "I haven't spoken to him for a year and even before that, months went by where the only communication we had was in class." She explained. "Logan really put a dent in our relationship. How can I be jealous when we haven't really been friends?"

"True." Lorelai nodded as she took her daughter's words into consideration. "But let me ask you this. That night, when he told you that he liked you, if there was no Logan, what would you have said?" She asked curiously.

Rory sighed as she sank down into the chair while bringing her hands to cover her face.

_Later On..._

"Lorelai!" Kirk exclaimed with a huge smile as he ran through the living room of her home.

"Hey Kirk." Lorelai smiled at her neighbor. "You're early." She said.

"Yes I am." He nodded in agreement. "I need you to come with me." He said, doing his best to sound very business like.

"Kirk, I'm kind of busy here, you know, setting up for the party" The party that was set to start in less than ten minutes.

"Just for a second." He assured her. "He's right outside."

"Whose right outside?" She asked.

"Come with me." He urged her.

Loreali sighed, dropping the balloon that she had been blowing up before Kirk came, on the chair that was beside he. "Okay, lead the way." She said, holding her arms for him to walk ahead of her.

Kirk nodded, turning around to lead her towards the front door where Dr. Peterson was standing on the porch in front of a table with a few medical supplies set up on top.

"Hello Lorelai." the man who was Rory's pediatrician and is now Aaden's; their first appointment set for Monday, greeted her.

"Hello Dr. Peterson." She smiled, reaching out to shake his outstretched hand.

"Lorelai, this is Dr. Peterson, Dr. Peterson, this is Lorelai Gilmore, she's throwing the party for her new baby." Kirk explained.

"Uh Kirk, did ya miss our little greeting there, we know each other, have for many many years." Lorelai explained, using her hand to gesture between herself and the man.

"Oh." Kirk blinked, but recovered quickly; wiping the confusion from his face as he went back to what he came to do. "Anyway, Dr. Peterson is here to check every person that wants to go through this door." He explained, pointing a hand at the door beside him. "If anyone is sick, they won't get in, and don't worry, I've already been checked, or else I wouldn't have gone in your house."

"Seriously?" She laughed. Yes, she joked with Luke about getting someone to man the door, but she didn't think that anyone would actually do this. Then again, she realized, it is Kirk.

"I know a little bit about babies Lorelai, especially since Lulu has been bringing all of those magazines home about babies and buying a new home. She keeps leaving them on my pillow, can't figure out why." She said thoughtfully. "But anyway, I know that sick people should not be around babies, especially newborns."

"Kirk, this is the nicest, weirdest thing you have ever done." She smiled at him.

"Thank you." He nodded, taking the compliment.

"And you don't mind, Dr. Peterson?" She asked, turning to look at the man. "I mean really, you don't have to do this, you can come inside and join the party, you don't have to stand out here and check everyone."

"No, it's okay, I don't mind, plus the pays worth it." He grinned.

"Oh yeah, and he's working for ten bucks an hour." Kirk added quickly before turning to run down the stairs, yelling that he had to get Lulu as he went.

Lorelai just shook her head at the crazy man before turning to go back inside.

_Later..._

"You guys, you didn't have to get him anything else, you gave enough during the shower." Lorelai said as everyone gathered around the living room to start opening presents.

"Oh sugah, if I coulda gotten him more, I woulda, but the gig Morey had this weekend got canceled, so we were only able to pick up a few things, but you just wait till his birthday! He's gonna have more toys then he knows what to do with!" Babette exclaimed.

Lorelai laughed at her kind hearted neighbor.

"Here." Luke said as he set a pile of presents down on the floor in front of Lorelai where she was sitting crossed legged, with Aaden laying on a play mat next to her.

"Thank you daddy." Lorelai cooed, using her baby voice.

Luke shook his head at her, unable to keep the grin from his face as he set down with a garbage bag ready in hand.

"Which one do you wanna open first baby?" Lorelai asked as she looked next to her at her little boy. "Oh, the biggest one? Well okay, if you want to." She said, grabbing the box by the edge to move it closer.

Meanwhile, outside, Dr. Peterson was just putting everything away so he could join in with everyone at the party. About an hour had gone by and he figured no one else would show up, but his actions came to a halt when he saw a man coming up the porch.

"Hello." He smiled politely, not recognizing the man who just tossed him a smile, not stopping for even a second during his journey to get inside. "Hey wait, you're suppose to get checked first!" He called, but the man ignored him.

Rory was the first to see him, catching site of the man while she was coming down the stairs, carrying a blanket for her brother as she did.

"Dad." She deadpanned, surprised to see him walking through the living room with a wrapped box in his hand.

"Rory!" He smiled eagerly, stopping to let her catch up to him. "I'm guessing you're having a party here." He assumed.

"Yeah." She nodded, nervously rushing to lead him down the hall, to the kitchen where no one could see him.

"What are you doing here?" Rory hissed once they reached the other room.

"Your mom had a kid, right? I wanted to bring this for him." He said, holding up the present he had with him.

Rory bit down her bottom lip, knowing that this was her fault. Her and Christopher had been talking on a somewhat regular basis. Lorelai insisted that nothing change between father and daughter, she didn't want her issues with Christopher to get in the way of his relationship with Rory. So they've been keeping up with the phone calls. That was really it. But still, she did mention the baby.

"Can you just.. wait here for a sec." Rory said, not waiting for an answer as she turned to rush down the hall, her head coming up with a plan as she went.

"Mom, can you come inside for a sec? I need your help carrying a present." She asked, stopping in the living room and everyone turned their attention to the young girl.

"I'll help you." Luke offered

"No, stay." She stopped him urgently. "Someone' s gotta hold that binky, right?" she laughed, trying to play her nerves off. Aaden was sucking on a pacifier and Luke was holding the handle to keep the binky in his mouth.

"Can it wait till we're done, babe?" Lorelai asked, stopping mid un-wrap as she turned to look up at her daughter.

"No." Was all she said and Loerlai just gave her a confused look, but after seeing the desperation on Rory's face, she stood up to help.

"Okay, I'm coming." She assured Rory as she stood to leave the room, asking Luke to continue on as she went.

"So what's this big gift that you can't carry, I thought you got- Chris." Lorelai's shocked voice said when she saw the man standing in her kitchen.

"Hey Lor." He smiled, like nothing had happened.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, darting her eyes around nervously to make sure no one was coming.

"I wanted to see the baby." He smiled, while holding up the gift he brought with him.

"You can't be here." She shook her head vehemently. "You know you can't be here. You know that we can't see each other anymore, you know that." She stressed.

"I'm just here to give this to your kid, that's all." He said, holing up his hands in defense.

"No, no, no." Lorelai protested, shaking her head at him. "No, you can't do this, you can't call me, you can't come here, why did you call me last night?" She hissed.

"He called you?" Rory asked, not having heard about that earlier.

"Yes." Lorelai sighed, briefly looking at her daughter, then bringing her eyes back to Christopher.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rory demanded, looking hurt that her mother hid something from her

"Because I don't want to rock the boat between you two, you know that Rory." Lorelai explained helplessly.

The message that he left, it really wasn't that big of a deal to Lorelai, he was just saying congratulations about the baby, and that he wishes her luck, that's it. And of course, she told Luke who left the message and she held the phone to him, offering him the chance to listen to it, but he turned it down. He said he trusted her word; he trusted what she said about the contents of the message. It wasn't a big deal, but now, him showing up at her home, that was a big deal. It didn't matter the reason, there wasn't suppose to be any contact anymore, and yes, it was hard for her to go. She didn't want to. She was friends with Christopher for so long, she didn't want to lose his friendship and it wasn't like Luke was making her or anything, but she felt she had to. Christopher wasn't worth the risk of losing Luke. He caused too much drama. Too many problems went along with him. It wasn't worth it and Lorelai knew that.

"What are you doing here!?" Luke's booming voice yelled from behind them, and all three heads turned to the sound.

"Luke," Lorelai said, rushing to stop him from getting any closer to Chris.

"Nothing, I was just-" Chris started to defend himself, but was interrupted.

"Get out!" Luke shouted, not wanting to hear anything he had to say.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving." Chris said, dropping the present on the table before he quickly passed by them to leave the room. Everyone in the living room had their curious eyes on the man as he left.

Lorelai sighed, trying to figure out how she would clean up the mess that Chris left behind. The mess that he always left behind.

... to be continued...

**Please Please REVIEW!!**


	6. Stop, Stare, and Listen

**Chapter Six:**

"Luke." Lorelai turned to her husband the very second she heard the front door slam closed.

"Later." He stopped her. His voice was brief and demanding, not leaving any room for argument.

Lorelai winced at the word later, it wasn't good. She wanted to talk about this now. "But-" She tried to protest.

Luke shook his head. "We have people inside Lorelai; people inside for a party that _you_ wanted to have. We'll talk later." He finished with such finality that all Lorelai could do was stand there, her eyes watching him with disappointment as he turned to leave the room.

"Mom?" Rory called hesitantly once her stepfather was gone.

Lorelai let out an audible sigh before turning to face her daughter.

The face Rory saw on her mother was so different from what she saw just two minutes ago, in the living room. Lorelai had looked so happy, so care free, so excited as she sat around with everyone, opening gifts with her son lying next to her. And now, because of her, because she had been talking with her father and apparently had made the mistake of telling Chris that her mother had the baby, now her face just looked tired. She looked physically and emotionally tired. Like she had just ran miles for a cross country team, which made sense. Rory knew dealing with her father was like going around in circles.

Rory stood, patiently waiting for her mother to say something. After a minute, the only movement that her body made was her hand coming to her forehead, her two first fingers and thumb rubbing small circles against her skin as her eyes closed.

The younger woman let out a quiet breath, deciding to just bite the bullet. "Mom?" She questioned, just loud enough for anyone else to hear. "Are you okay?"

Lorelai squeezed her eyes tight for a second before they slowly opened up. She quickly removed her hand from her forehead, then took in a deep, fast breath. "No." She answered honestly, locking eyes with her daughter. "I'm not okay. But I have to go out there and pretend to be because apparently, we're gonna talk later." She mocked Luke's previous words. "Because shoving away our problems and putting on fake happy faces like a stupid clown mask, is the best way to go." She said sarcastically.

Rory frowned at her mother while peaking over Lorelai's shoulder. She could see Luke in the living room, walking around the outer perimeter as he was gathering discarded wrapping paper and stuffing into the black garbage bag that he was holding. The noise level having gone down considerably since Christopher left. It sounded like the party guests were talking amongst themselves, keeping their tones quiet. Not at all like they were before.

"Do you want me to ask everyone to leave?" Rory offered, bringing her gaze back to her mom. "That way you and Luke could talk?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, that's okay. I'll kick everyone out after presents; we should at least finish that." She said reluctantly. She wasn't too thrilled with the idea of putting up a facet; smiling and sending out thank you's to everyone after she would open present after present, but Luke didn't want to talk now, so they wouldn't talk now. "Come on, let's get this over with." She said, turning to go into the living room. Rory quickly followed behind her mother.

Having just been yelled at by Luke for starring, the good townspeople of Stars Hollow were trying to act as normal as possible when they saw Lorelai approaching. She stopped by Aaden to sit down next to him, right where she was before. Of course, they all had a million questions to ask, having only heard bits and pieces of the heated discussion that went on in the kitchen just minutes go, but they kept their thoughts in their conscious, instead choosing to talk about the baby. Their mouths were moving fast, but their tones moderate, lowering like that the second Luke barked at them, saying, "What?!", and then telling them to mind their own business and go back to what they were doing before. So they did just that, being careful to keep their voices at bay while they talked, not wanting to upset Luke any more than he already was.

The party went on for no more than a half hour more, ending much earlier than anyone had anticipated it would, that is before Christopher stopped by.

Lorelai had gone through all of the presents, not taking more than ten seconds to open each one, the time being shorter if the gift was smaller. She said a quick thank you after each one, widening her smile to pose with Aaden and the new object, while a picture was being snapped.

Once the last picture was taken, Sookie immediately stood up to hurry through the living room and into the kitchen, going as fast as a pregnant woman could go to get to the refrigerator to get the cake that was sitting on the shelf, just waiting to be consumed.

Luke, was much as he wanted to object to food in the living room, held his tongue. He wasn't a clean freak by any means, absolutely nothing compared to Monica Geller, but he knew he would have enough to clean up after the party was over and a toddler with cake by the carpet, the fairly new carpet, was just a mess waiting to happen. That he was sure of. And even with this certainty, he just sat on the landing on the staircase, his mind busy trying to work though everything that had happened. Specifically the man that had juts stopped by, making a surprise appearance. At least, to him it was a surprise. Did Lorelai know he was coming? The little voice in his head asked him that very question, but Luke immediately shook his head in protest. He knew Lorelai wouldn't invite him, and even more importantly, he knew that if by some bizarre chance she did decide to invite the man, he knew she would tell him. He knew his wife wouldn't just invite her ex over for their son's homecoming party, especially without telling him.

Luke wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed since the visit, but he knew it wasn't much when he heard people gathering around the door, not more than six or seven feet in front of him. He looked up, tearing his gaze away from the spot on the floor that he had been starring at, to see his wife ushering people out.

"I'll see ya around hot stuff!" Babette's screeching voice exclaimed as she looked down at Aaden.

"Bye Babette." Lorelai smiled.

"Bye sugah! You two kids call if you need anything!" She told Lorelai before stepping out into the porch, Morey in toe who left off with a, "cool party," in that deep monotone voice of his.

"Great party Lorelai." Gypsy smiled as she pulled her coat on.

Luke watched as Lorelai nodded in appreciation to the comment, her arms busy bouncing Aaden a bit to keep him calm. Glancing down at his watch, Luke realized that it was almost time for the baby to eat.

And the line went on; one by one, people saying their goodbyes before they left and then came Patty, who was the last.

"Was that Rory's father?" Patty whispered, grinning excitedly with the prospect of new gossip as she threw a shall over her shoulder.

"Um, yeah." Lorelai replied uncomfortably. Luke shook his head as Patty's smiled grew bigger.

"Well he looks just as good as I remember him, maybe better." She purred. Lorelai gave a small smile. "Of course, nothing compared to your husband, but he still is a fine, fine, man."

"You want his number? Maybe I can hook you up?" Lorelai joked, trying to move the leaving process along. All she wanted right now was to get Luke alone, so they could talk.

"Oh no, what would a young man want with me?" She asked sadly, her voice sighing. "Now if I was twenty years younger, then I'd say yes, but no, I'm too old for him. Maybe in another life time I'll get to touch that ass, but for now, I'll just have to stick to looking"

"That's probably for the best." Lorelai nodded in agreement.

The older woman smiled, brining her eyes down to the baby in Lorelai's arms

"He's gonna be a heart breaker, this one." She said without a doubt.

"Oh yeah." Lorelai nodded with certainty.

"Even this young he looks so much like his father, can you imagine fifteen years from now?" Patty questioned. "Those poor girls." She sympathized. "They'll never see him coming."

"Nope." Lorelai shook her head.

"Oh well, I should get going. I have a lot of calls to make." Patty smiled as she held up her cell phone.

"Bye Patty."

"Bye." She sang happily and of course her fingers were busy dialing the moment she left the house.

Lorelai sighed, knowing she was the reason for the calls.

After closing the door behind her last guest to leave, Lorelai looked down at her son. "I hope you had fun little guy, because--Luke!" She gasped in surprised, turning to find her husband sitting behind her, on the stairs. "I thought you went up." She said, tossing her hand towards the second floor.

"Nope." He shook his head while standing up.

"Can we talk now?" She asked immediately, not wanting to wait anymore.

"You go up and feed him while I clean up, okay?" He asked.

"But we-"

"Will talk later." He finished. "Go." He encouraged, giving her a small smile as he tossed his head towards the stairs.

Lorelai nodded reluctantly, her gaze staying on Luke for a moment before she went on with her journey. Aaden's fussy cry starting up as she went, his voice getting fainter with every step Lorelai took.

Once she was out of site, Luke blew out a breath. He shook his head, putting the anticipated conversation to the back of his mind, then turning to go to the kitchen.

He was surprised to find Rory by the sink, and Jess by the table, picking up his jacket as he passed the chair. His nephew gave him a nod and a, "see ya," Before leaving.

Rory's hands were busy running silverware under the stream of water that was coming from the faucet.

"Hey." Luke called to let her know his was in the room.

Rory turned her head at the sound, immediately recognizing the voice.

"Hey." She gave him a smile in return, trying to read his face for some kinds of emotion. She was hoping he wasn't angry.

"You don't have to do this." He frowned.

"I don't mind helping." She shrugged.

"Thanks." Luke nodded, giving her an appreciative smile.

Rory nodded back while Luke went to the cabinet that was beside her, reaching to pull out aluminum foil and saran wrap so he could wrap up the leftover food.

Rory quickly finished up with the sink a minute later, while Luke was still at the table. All of the utensils were washed and before turning off the sink, she scooped them all up and dumped them on a waiting towel that was out next to the sink. Then she reached for the knob, silencing the sound of water rushing through the pipes and pouring out to splatter across various pieces of metal. She suddenly became very aware of how quiet the room was.

She stood unmoving for a moment, just listening to the quiet that was so loud. She listened for any sounds as the wheels in her mind starting turning, debating about whether she should say something. Intervene. Metal. Butt in. It was a very, to be or not to be, kind of situation. The only sound in the room was coming from the saran wrap, that little crinkling sound it made as the material was being pulled at. It was a quiet sound, one that is only heard when there's nothing else to hear. And right now, that was the only thing to hear.

There have been many situations in movies, TV shows, mini series, music videos, as well as real life, where people who spoke up when not initially involved from the start, ended up having it backfire in their faces. This could be one of those times, Rory knew that, but she also knew it might not.

"Hey Luke?" Rory called hesitantly, her body turning away from the sink to face the man.

"Yeah?" He asked, keeping some of his attention on the task in front of him, while lending some to his stepdaughter.

Rory took in a quick breath. "Mom didn't invite him here, she didn't know he was coming, it's my fault." She spoke quickly.

Luke sighed, turning away from the food to look at her. "I'm not mad at your mom." He said, wanting to ease her mind, knowing that that was bothering her.

Rory nodded, but went on. "She needs him out of her life, and she knows that." Rory explained. "It's just hard for her. He keeps showing up, he won't let her go, but it's him, it isn't mom."

The words hung there for a moment, floating around in the still air.

"You know that, right? You know that she doesn't want him?"

Luke nodded without hesitation. It wasn't her that he was worried about.

"He was just her friend for so long, she's just having a hard time. You know, I told him to stay away from her, two year ago, when called her, begging for help with GiGi, I went to him and told him to stop calling mom because I didn't want him to ruin things with you guys, but it happened anyway, he didn't listen." She said sadly.

Luke grimaced at the memory.

"It wasn't all him thought, it was grandma too, and after that, I really thought she would never forgive him, but she did and you know why?" Rory asked, letting the thought go for a moment. "Because she doesn't love him Luke. She doesn't and she wouldn't let him hurt you guys again, I know that. She's just scared that is too much on you. So she said goodbye to him. You're more important to her, what you both have is more important to her, I know that, but I don't think he'll ever go away. And I know mom misses him in a way; his friendship, how they were as kids, growing up together, but that's it. You don't have to be scared of him Luke. Don't be scared of him." She said firmly, but gently.

Luke sighed. He wished he could say he wasn't.

"I told him about the baby, and I don't know why exactly he was here, but mom didn't do anything."

Luke nodded, already figuring something like that happened.

"Do you think you could finish this up for me?" He asked.

Rory smiled. "Sure." She nodded.

"Thanks Rory." He smiled before turning to go upstairs.

_Nursery..._

Rocking back and forth in the rocking chair that her husband made, Lorelai sat singing _twinkle, twinkle, little star_, to her son. The baby had his mouth clamped to her breast; his lips moving in spurts. His eyes were up, looking at his mom as she quietly sang to him. His wondering gaze stayed on Loerlai's mouth, watching with curiosity as it moved.

"...like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are." She finished with a smile.

Luke couldn't help but smile when he heard his wife's voice. Of course, she was no Dolly Parton or anything, but she could sing. Certainly more than well enough for a baby. He always thought her voice was nice. He didn't get to hear her sing to often, sometimes he would catch her in the shower, when she thought there wasn't an audience listening, and, sometimes he would fling that curtain open with a grin, and she would gasp in surprise, swatting her hand at his chest while yelling at him, her mind mentally swearing never to let her sing in the shower again. Of course, that never stuck. The singing would continue on. Sometimes Luke would leave her alone, and sometimes he would let his presence be known, while other times, he would follow that up with a toss away of his clothes and Lorelai would pull him in with her. Now, with Aaden, Luke encouraged her to sing, and not just in the shower. As well as she encouraged him to pick up that guitar that was sitting his old apartment. She knew he played as a kid and although he wasn't the greatest singer, she knew he was good on the guitar. He was a little rusty, but the music he played seemed to be a hit with Aaden, who loved to hear him play. It was usually a particular melody, not really a song, just a sort of makeshift lullaby that Lorelai learned that Luke used to hear it from his dad, when he was a boy. That's who taught Luke how to play. And now she was so happy that he was passing it on to their son.

Her voice was always low, Luke knew that, it was just loud enough to hear it there was quiet and he was in the room, but Luke came to expect it, so when he reached the hall, he listened for it, blocking out everything else and just focusing on Lorelai and as expected, he heard it. The soft hum of her voice as she sung comforting words to their son.

When Luke reached the dark nursery; the only light coming from the teddy bear lamp that sat on the night stand, he stopped to lean against the door frame. He couldn't help but to stop and stare. The scene in front of him always got him. His wife and son having their own moment, it always made him smile. He really didn't know what he would feel while she was pregnant, he tried to image how he would react if he ever saw her breast feed, and he honestly didn't expect to feel the way he does. He thought he want to avoid it. He didn't think he would end up liking to watch, but he did. The whole thing just amazed him. Aaden depended on them for everything, but what he could get from Lorelai, only she could give him that. It just seemed to put both mother and son at peace. Of course, he knew it was, at times, uncomfortable for Lorelai, but she always held a smile on her face, a genuine smile. It may hurt, but he would see that she was just so wrapped up in the experience that she didn't let it bother her .That just blew his mind.

"Hey." Lorelai's voice called, snapping him from the trance that he was in. Luke pushed himself up to stand fully erect, then walked further into the room, coming to a stop in front of the rocking chair.

"Hey." He smiled, his eyes glued to his son, waiting as his mouth moved back and forth. "How is he?"

"Good." Lorelai nodded. "He latched on right away, didn't give a hard time or anything." She reported with a smile.

"I'm glad." Luke nodded, she was always a little upset when the baby was being stubborn and refused to breast feed. They both knew it was normal, but Lorelai couldn't help but be disappointed, feeling like she was did something wrong. And as much as Luke loved to feed his son, he prayed every time Lorelai went to feed him, hoping that he would latch on. He couldn't stand to see Lorelai upset.

"He's almost done too." She added. "I don't think he was very hungry, it looks like he could fall asleep any minute."

Luke nodded. "We'll talk when he's done, okay? But I want you to know that it's okay; what happened before, you didn't know. I'm not mad." He said.

Lorelai blew out a quiet breath of relief; one she didn't realize she was holding.

"Rory's downstairs cleaning up, I'm just gonna make a few calls, check in at the diner and then we'll talk."

"Okay." Lorelai nodded. "Five minutes, bedroom?"

Luke nodded in agreement and Lorelai gave him a smile in return, which came and went before it even had a chance to settle on her lips. It happened sometimes; cramps in her stomach. Nothing major, just sometimes a cramp would come and that she could handle, but then sometimes, Aaden would choose to bite down just a little too hard on her nipple, right when a cramp was coming, and that hurt, but only for a second. She assured Luke of that on the first day, when it happened.

Luke reached his arms to, bringing his hands to cup her face, gently lifting her head so her eyes could find his. They held each other's gaze for a moment before Luke leaned forward to brush his lips against hrs in a lingering kiss, filled with promises for later.

Lorelai sighed in reluctance when he released her so quickly and Luke just smiled, planting a kiss on her forehead, then on Aaden's, before he turned to leave.

Once he got downstairs. Luke quickly peaked into the kitchen while snatching the phone up from its base in the hall, his fingers immediately scattering around the phone, pressing button after button to dial a familiar number as his legs took him to the living room.

"Hi, can I speak with Mr. Gilmore please; it's his son-in-law, Luke?"

"Of course, please hold on a moment." The maid said.

"Thank you." Luke smiled before he was put on hold.

There was silence, at which Luke choose trying to think up what he was going to say to Lorelai's father. His wife had invited her parents over for the party today. He knew her mother wasn't the most thrilled with the idea of a party, to which he could relate too; he was also afraid,but still, to not come to her grandson's homecoming party, Luke didn't think there was an excuse for that. This meant something to her daughter, Luke knew that, and she didn't come. He held some hope though that her father would come. He and Lorelai, while he never brought his daughter to bring your daughter to work day--that is if his company even had that--he knew they got along better than her and her mother did. They seemed to have much less battles than her and Emily Gilmore did.

"Hello." Richard's voice answered.

"Hi, Mr. Gilmore, it's Luke."

"_Well hello Luke. I wasn't aware you had gone wireless."_

"Wireless?" He asked, confused.

_"Yes, aren't you on a cell phone?"_ The older man asked.

"No," Luke shook his head. "I'm on the home phone."

_"Home?"_ Richard questioned. "_Oh well, I guess a baby can make you run late, although I told Emily having dinner in Stars Hollow would probably be for the best. I guess she didn't take my advice."_ He said sadly.

Luke paused, trying to take a moment to understand. It seemed like Richard had no idea.

"Uh, Mr. Gilmore, Is Mrs. Gilmore there?"

_"I told you Luke, call me Richard."_ He reminded his son-in-law, smiling.

"Richard, sorry."

_"Oh, don't apologize, just don't do it again. And to answer your question, no, Emily has been running around all day, running errands. Although I suppose she should be back soon, dinner is in an hour. Would you like me to tell her you called?"_

"Uh, no, that's okay. I'll just, uh, see ya later Mr Gil--Richard." He corrected himself, then hung up quickly, before turning to run up the stairs.

"Lorelai! We have a problem!" He yelled as he took the stairs two a time.

... To Be Continued...

Please Please **REVIEW!! And go ahead, GUESS THAT CLIFFY!!**


	7. Agree to Agree

**Chapter Seven:**

"Lorelai! We have a problem!" Luke yelled as he took the stairs two at a time.

Lorelai quirked her eyebrows while looking up. "What's wrong?!" She shouted back. Her face quickly turning to a wince as she looked down at Aaden, just realizing how loud her voice was. The baby looked up at his mom, his lips around her nipple quivering. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She quickly apologized, rocking her body back and forth to prevent tears.

"Your dad called." Luke's voice said as he came rushing through the nursery. "He thinks dinner is still on."

"What?" Lorelai's face turning to confusion. "But I talked to mom, I told her about the party, I told her that she and dad were welcome to come here."

Luke nodded. "I know that." He said while taking a few steps to lean on the wall next to her. "But apparently the message wasn't relayed to him." Luke's voice dry." He said your mom's been out shopping all day and he's expecting her home any minute because dinner is in an hour."

Lorelai's eyes went wide with realization. "She didn't tell him! I can't believe she didn't tell him! She's just doing this to get back at me! She knew if she told him, he would want to come! I can't believe her." Lorelai sighed, her body leaning back against the rocking chair.

"What do you wanna do? You wanna go over there?" Luke asked, although he was hoping she would say no.

Lorelai shook her head. "I'll call him as soon as I finish up here, I have an idea."

Luke's brows bent together in confusion as he looked down at her. "An idea?" He asked.

She nodded. "If you wouldn't mind some company, that is." She said, looking up at him with a bright smile.

Lorelai went on to explain her idea, which really didn't need too much more of an explanation, what she first insinuated was pretty self explanatory, and of course, Luke agreed. He wasn't all too thrilled with the thought, and neither was Lorelai, but it was the right thing to do, they both knew that..

So a plan was set in motion and while Lorelai finished feeding Aaden, Luke went downstairs to finish clearing up the kitchen as well as the living room. Thankfully, Rory had done the bulk of the kitchen, so there wasn't that much left. By the time everything was done, and he went upstairs, Lorelai was just laying their son down in his crib.

"Hey." He whispered while coming up behind her.

Lorleai craned her neck, her hand planted on her baby's stomach as she carefully rocked his small body back and forth, to give Luke a smile.

"He fell asleep?"

She nodded.

"I'll meet you inside, okay? You'll call your dad?"

Lorelai nodded, agreeing.

Luke gave her a smile, putting his hand on the small of her back as he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

Lorelai kept her eyes on Luke, watching as he crossed the hall and disappeared behind the door to their room. She knew that they both knew the day hadn't gone exactly as planned, but even so, over all, it was a good day. For the most part.

Lorelai sighed as she turned back to look at Aaden, and the site of him sleeping; his little body sprawled out, his hands balled up on either side of his head and his legs bent up a bit, his chest heaving up and down with each breath, made her lips turn into a smile.

She stayed rooted to spot for a few minutes, her adoring eyes on her son's sleeping body, and when she knew more than enough time had passed, she forced herself to leave the room. On the way out, she stopped to snatch the baby monitor from it's base, closing the door behind her to leave it open just a crack.

When she walked into her bedroom, she found Luke sitting on the bed with the phone laying next to him.

"I was thinking," she started while circling the bed to sit next to him. "that maybe we shouldn't do this."

Luke sighed. "He didn't know, Lorelai, we have to."

"I know, but we just got everybody out of here, and we still need to talk about what happened, I mean I know it isn't vital that we talk this very second, because there is nothing dire about this situation- there is no situation, he just came on his own, no one invited him and he just-"

"Lorelai, I know, you don't have to explain anything, that isn't what we need to talk about." Luke shook his head, stopping her.

"It isn't?" Her lips frowning.

"No." Luke sighed, letting out a breath. "I talked to Rory- or really, she talked to me."

Lorelai nodded, her face still turned into confusion, but her ears ready to listen.

"She explained everything, although she didn't need to, but she did." Luke started, while turning to meet her eyes. "She told me you didn't invite him here, you didn't know he was coming."

"I didn't." Lorelai was quick to agree.

"I know." Luke nodded firmly. "I know, Lorelai."

"You really needed to hear that from Rory?" She questioned, feeling a little hurt that it seemed he needed confirmation from someone else. "You really think I would ask him to come here, Luke? Did you really doubt that I didn't know he was planning to come?" Her lips frowning as she spoke.

"No, Lorelai, no." He shook his head vehemently. "I know you didn't."

"But did you then?" She asked, her tone desperate. "Did you know before Rory told you?"

Luke sighed, keeping his gaze on her for a moment before looking away. "It wasn't that I didn't believe you." He said quietly. "I just- he keeps popping up, Lorelai, he won't just go away. I was stupid to think it would be that easy." Luke tried to explain, wanting her to understand.

Lorelai let out a nervous breath. "I know." She nodded while looking down at her lap. "But I tried, and he just-"

"- I know you miss him." Luke blurted, interrupting her.

Lorelai's eyes darted up, her neck craning to look at him.

"It's okay." He turned to look at her. He brought his hand to squeeze her knee. "It's okay to miss him." Luke assured her.

Lorelai turned her head, bringing her eyes down to her lap. "I just wish we could be friends and not have what happened today, happen." She spoke quietly.

Luke nodded, his eyes on her lap. He moved his hand from her knee to her thigh, threading his fingers through hers to lay his open palm over hers. "I know."

Lorelai shook her head, quickly bringing her eyes up to look at him. "It doesn't matter though, Luke. I just want him gone. I don't want to see him anymore, but he's making this too hard." She said, her eyes dropping.

Luke gently squeezed her hand as he took in a breath. "He doesn't have to go away, Lorelai." His voice just loud enough for her to hear.

"What?" Lorelai asked, wondering if he realized what he just said.

"Christopher," Luke went on to explain. "he doesn't have to go away, you can still see him." He hated to say it, but he didn't see much of a choice here. The situation was getting to be a lot on Lorelai and there was no reason why she couldn't see him. He trusted her, he really did.

Lorelai shook her head. "Luke, no-"

"-Look at what happened today Lorelai." He stopped her. "I know what he's trying to do and you know what he's trying to do, but I don't know," Luke shrugged. "maybe he's just doing this because he does just want to be friends with you. I mean what were you before all this happened, before we got married, before we started dated, you were friends, so maybe he just wants some contact with you. I don't know how okay with that I'd be, but I would deal with it." Luke assured her, holding her gaze as he spoke. "It's better than seeing you like this, Lorelai, seeing this happen- I don't want that stress on you, I don't want you getting upset every time he does something like this, I don't want us to go through this."

There was a moment of silence between them as Lorelai took in her husband's words. She knew Christopher could be a troublemaker, and usually it wasn't all him, or he didn't realize the damage he was causing, but still, he was always like a passing storm. He came by in spurts, leaving a trail behind him for everyone else to clean up. Even so though, she did miss him. She missed when things were easy. Just having him around, just being friends. Before everything got so complicated. But then on the other hand, she asked herself if suddenly telling him that she changed her mind, that she wanted to have some contact, if that might cause more harm then good. If he would think that whatever ridiculous plan he's been working up on his head, is working. And then of course, there was the toll this would take on Luke. He even said it himself, he didn't know how he would deal with this, and she knew her husband, he was a jealous man, just like she was a jealous woman, that was no secret.

Lorelai sighed, her head dropping as she closed her eyes. She didn't know what to do.

"Think about it." Luke told her while freeing his hand from her gasp and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He kissed her temple, letting his lips linger for a moment. "Call your dad, we'll talk more later." He promised before standing up to leave, wanting to give her some privacy.

_Later on..._

"Hey Richard," Luke smiled at his father in law while holding the door open for him. "come in."

"Thank you." The older man nodded, giving Luke a smile as he walked past him.

"Hey dad." Lorelai smiled from the couch, where she sat next to a sleeping Aaden, his little body lying on the couch cushion next to her.

"Hello Lorelai." His face turned to a frown as he maneuvered through the living room.

"Sit." She smiled, patting the spot next to her.

The elder Gilmore nodded, making a beeline for a couch.

"Can I get you anything to drink? Eat?" Luke asked.

"No thank you Luke, why don't you sit down, I know you both had quite a day."

Luke nodded, going to sit in the recliner diagonal from the couch, stopping briefly on the way to pick up various toys that were left on the floor.

Once her husband was seated, Lorelai turned to look at her dad, keeping a protective hand on her baby's stomach as he slept.

"Listen, dad, about the party, I'm sorry-"

"-You don't have to apologize Lorelai." He stopped her, giving a small smile. "You did nothing wrong. It was your mother." He sighed. "When she got home, I told her you had called. I told her you had invited us over to a party, and she seemed to get upset. She just brushed me off, saying she'd be down for dinner, but I stopped her, saying that I knew what she did, and even though the party had ended, the invitation to come was still open, and then she got angry with me. She tried to convince me not to go. She said it wouldn't be right if only one of us showed up. She said that you didn't care to hear what she had to say in the beginning, and she said things may not be okay when I come home later." The man sighed.

"Oh, dad." Lorelai winced.

Richard shook his head, not wanting sympathy. "Your mother's being dramatic, Lorelai. You know how she can be. She doesn't like to admit she's wrong, much like you young lady." He smiled at his daughter. "I know you don't like to think so, but you and your mother are alike in some ways."

"Yup." Luke nodded, agreeing.

"Hey!" Lorelai exclaimed, snapping her head to narrow her eyes at Luke. He just grinned at her.

Richard smiled. "Your mother's just worried about the baby, Lorelai. She's a defensive person, she doesn't like to be vulnerable, so when something like this happens, she tends to get angry, not wanting to listen to anyone, you know that."

Lorelai nodded. She did know that. "But you and mom, you'll be okay?" She asked, worried that her mother would take this personally, like her father was taking sides or something.

The man nodded. "We'll be fine, this will all be forgotten."

"Good." Lorelai nodded. "And I'll talk to mom tomorrow, try and explain things, if that will help." She shrugged. "I know she's worried about Aaden," her head turned to look at her son. "I am too, all the time, but that doesn't mean we can't do things. As much as I'd like to wrap him up in a bubble and keep him away from the rest of the world, I can't do that." She shook her head. "Poor bubble boy never had any kind of life, I can do that to my baby." She frowned, gently smoothing her hand over his stomach. "Mom has to understand that this is new for me. When Rory was first born I was living home, and the nanny just took over, but this time I don't have someone taking him away, doing what I should have done. I'm scared too." She admitted, turning to look at her dad and Luke.

"I know." Richard nodded. "But maybe your mother doesn't."

_Next Day.. Yale..._

"Rory!" Paris shouted while rushing through the hall, trying to catch up.

"Hey, Paris." Rory said, her attention focused on the graded paper that she just got back, while her legs maneuvered her body through the hall, occasionally she managed to bump into someone.

"How'd you do?" Paris asked once she was side by side with Rory.

"A, you?" She asked while skimming through the paper, reading the few comments that her teacher left.

Paris stopped dead in her tracks.

"You got an A?" She asked, her voice in awe.

Rory stopped, turning to look at her friend. "Yes," she said slowly. "why?"

"A!? You got an A?! How did you get an A!? No one got an A!, the highest grade was an A minus!, How did you get an A?!" The woman exclaimed, on the verge of hysterics, demanding to know how she was outdone.

Rory sighed, glancing down at the watch on her wrist. "Can we go back and forth with the flow charts and diagrams later, I have a date Paris."

"Fine," she huffed, quickly picking up a pace to pass Rory.

Rory shook her head, taking a second to fold up her paper and stick it in her bag before heading to the cafeteria.

Her face lite up when she found Jess at a table, his hands holding up a book.

"Hey, book worm." Rory teased.

Jess held up a finger, his eyes staying on the page he was on.

Rory grinned, setting down her bag, and then pulling out the chair across from him. She then folded her arms and sighed as she leaned forward.

"Catch 22," she read from the front of the book. "so this is what, the millionth time you're reading that book?" She asked smirking.

"Million and one." Jess answered, keeping his attention on the book.

"Right, right, million and one." Rory nodded.

"Twenty two seconds, and I'm done." Jess told, quickly working to finish the page he was on.

Rory smiled, quickly looking down at her watch to time him.

"... ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four," she grinned, peaking up to look at him. "three, two-"

"-done." He announced, grinning as he closed the book and put it down on the table in front of him .

"You still had a second left, that was only twenty one." Rory answered smartly.

Jess shrugged. "Give or take a second."

Rory shook her head. "You didn't say that before."

"I didn't?" Fake surprise covering his face.

"Nope." Rory smiled.

"Guess I got distracted." He grinned, locking eyes with her.

"Oh yeah?" Her voice just high enough for him to hear.

"Yeah," He said slowly, a wide smile taking over his face. " I mean have you read this book?" He asked, lifting it up for her to see. "It just pulls me right in, it's one hell of a book right here."

Rory rolled her eyes, reaching out to smack his chest.

"And than there's you." Jess shrugged while leaning back against the chair.

"Guess I should feel honored to even be on the list." Rory pouted.

"You should." Jess nodded in agreement. "I mean Catch 22 may beat ya, but you're defiantly high up there."

"You're mean." Rory's lip fell further.

"Lunch is on me." Jess offered while pulling out his wallet.

"And you've just redeemed yourself!" Rory exclaimed, a smile taking over her lips as she sprung up to snatch the money from his hand.

Jess shook his head, laughing as she ran off to get food.

_Gilmore Mansion..._

Lorelai took in breath before bringing her finger to press the door bell. She mentally chanted words of encouragement before pushing in that little silver button, then she winced when she heard footsteps approaching the door.

She was surprised to find her mother answer the door.

"Lorelai?" The older woman's eyebrows quirked.

"Hi mom." She smiled.

Emily narrowed her eyes at bit, wondering what her daughter was doing at her door step. She didn't look so good either, with her hair thrown up into a pony tail and her body dressed in a baggy sweater and jeans.

"So, um, can I come in?" Lorelai asked, wanting her mother's ever judging eyes, off of her.

"Yes," Emily shook her head, "come in." She said, holding the door open wider to allow her to pass.

"Thank you." Lorelai nodded, smiling as she passed her mother and went for the living room.

"May I ask what you're doing here?" Emily asked as she followed her daughter.

"I was just in the area, and I thought we could talk." Lorelai shrugged while taking a seat in her usual spot.

"Talk?" Emily answered as she went for the chair.

"Yes." Lorelai nodded in confirmation.

"Where's the baby?"

"At home, with Luke."

Emily nodded. "How is he?"

"He's good." Lorelai smiled. "Very happy with all the new toys he got yesterday."

"Well, that's nice." Emily smiled before getting up to go to the drink cart. "Would you like something to drink Lorelai, water? Soda?"

"No thank you, I'm okay." Lorelai answered politely, and Emily went on to make herself a drink.

"I think he really liked seeing dad, you know, getting that one on one grandpa and baby time, I think they both enjoyed it." She went on, wanting to get some kind of reaction from her mother.

Emily just nodded, keeping her attention in front of her.

"You know, Aaden's really small and fragile and everything, so he's not really mobile or anything yet, so dad just held him for a while, he even went up to the nursery and fed him. He was so excited to give his grandson a bottle, it was the cutest thing." Lorelai smiled.

"I'm sure it was." Emily murmured before turning, drink in hand, to head back to her seat.

Lorelai sighed before bringing her gaze up to her mom's. "You not wanting to come over was fine, but not telling dad; that's not okay mom." Lorelai said, her eyes begging for the woman to understand. "I know, deep down, you're just trying to look out for your grandson, you're worried about him, but that doesn't excuse what you did."

"He's a new born, Lorelai, how many times do I have to explain that to you." The woman's tone exasperated as she spoke.

"I know he's a newborn, but it wasn't like I left him to sit out in the freezing cold, mom. He was inside, warm and safe, and every single person who stepped through that door way was checked, he wasn't in any danger. I wouldn't put my son in danger."

"I know you wouldn't." Emily said. "But things can happen Lorelai, even when you don't mean for them too." She said pointedly.

Lorelai let a moment of silence go by, sensing that things were just getting worse, the tension rising.

"What am I suppose to do mom?" Her voice just above a whisper. "That town; everyone, their family to Luke and I, Rory too, and they wanted to see the baby, I wanted them too, but you have to understand that I am just as worried about him as you are, probably more." Lorelai tried to explain. "This is very different for me, not at all like when Rory was first born, I'm always scared, _always. _" She stressed. "Having to leave him today, having to say goodbye, I hated that." She confessed. "And I know, it's suppose to be for just a few hours, but that's the thing. Something could happen to me, and I could never see him again. Something could happen to him, God forbid, while I'm not home, and this could be it. I never know if the next minute is the last, and that's killing me, but I can't just stop doing things. I can't prevent him from having the chance to experience things. You have to understand that. You have to understand that, yes I'm doing things differently then you did, but that doesn't mean its wrong. I'm scared too, just like you." Lorelai finished while letting out a breath, desperately hoping her mother would understand.

Emily didn't respond at first, she simply looked down at her drink, then placed it on the coffee table. "I'm sorry, Lorelai."

The younger woman shook her head, her eyes going wide. Did her mother just apologize to her?

"I know I was being a tad stubborn," she said, avoiding her daughter's gaze. "your father was so kind to inform me of that, and maybe I did overreact, and not telling your father wasn't the smartest thing, so I'm sorry." She apologized. " I am worried and sometimes, the way you do things, well honestly, it confuses me." She explained. "When you were born, it was strictly family that came to the hospital, and then we didn't have a coming home party, people simply sent gifts through the mail, and that was it. That was the way things were done. I just didn't understand, but I'm sorry." Her voice sincere. "From now on, I will try and understand."

"Good." Lorelai nodded. "That's all I want."

Emily nodded, meeting her daughter's eyes to give her a small smile.

"Well I should get home, Aaden will want to eat soon and Luke's wells are pretty dry." Lorelai smiled as she stood.

Emily smiled, working to suppress a laugh. "I'll walk you out." The woman offered.

Lorelai turned. "How about you come with me?"

"What?" Emily questioned.

"Yeah, dad's working, right? You're home alone, and its Saturday, your DAR thing isn't until later, so why don't you come back to Stars Hollow, see your grandson for a while, I'll even buy you lunch."

Emily's lips widened. "Well alright." She nodded.

"Good, go grab your coat, let's go." Lorelai smiled, jerking her chin towards the coat rack, and Emily did just that; reaching to take her coat from its place, and putting it on as she followed her daughter out, only separate to get in her car, giving Lorelai smile as she did the same.

_... to be continued..._

Please Please **REVIEW!!**


	8. Anything is Something

**Chapter Eight:**

Luke's eyes peeped open, the sounds of his son's hungry cry filling his ears. He let out a quiet breath as he rolled over to get a look at the time. He peered over Lorelai's sleeping body to see that it was just shy of six. A smile covered his lips at the site of her and he pressed a kiss to her exposed shoulder, where the flannel she loved so much fell. His lips lingered for the quickest moment, not wanting to keep his baby waiting, and then he smoothed his hand over the spot, pulling the blanket back over her body as he left the bed.

"Hey pal, what's wrong?" Luke frowned, making a bee line for Aaden's crib. He put his hands on the railing and looked down to find tears streaming down the baby's face. His arms over his head, moving back and forth in frustration. Luke quickly reached his arms out and plucked his little boy from the mattress, carefully lifting him over the rail and bringing the baby's small body close to his chest. The movement seemed to calm Aaden down a bit, his cries falling weak as he tried his best to turn his head to his father's chest. "You hungry, aren't you?" Luke smiled, watching as the baby tried to find a source of milk, one that he would get from his mother. "Sorry kid, I'm not built like mommy." The older Danes grinned while walking towards the small fridge that was set up in the nursery, then slowly bending to retrieve a bottle from it.

Lorelai sighed, trying desperately to hold onto sleep. It was early, she could feel it. Her body was telling her that she needed at least another hour, maybe too, before waking up for the day, but unfortunately, her subconscious was becoming more aware, with every passing second, that the crying she was hearing wasn't in her dream, but coming from her two week old son.

And then it stopped, and that's when Lorelai rolled over and tried to get some more z,s, but it was too late. She wasn't like Luke, aside from the fact that she wasn't a deep sleeper like him, she couldn't just roll over and be snoring a minute later.

So finally, she surrendered and opened her eyes to find the bed next to her empty. Her lips curved to a frown, and not a moment later, the light bulb went off in her head. She quickly turned over and reached to turn up the volume on the baby monitor, which she assumed had been lowered by Luke when he got up to tend to their son.

"... so later, you're gonna be good for mommy, right?" Luke's questioning voice played through the device. "When its time for you to eat, you won't give her a hard time?" He asked. And there was a pause. Lorelai smiled, leaning her body up a bit to listen. "I won't be home all day, not like I usually am, its just gonna be you and mommy, and I won't be here to give you a bottle if you don't want- you know," Lorelai lips turned up further as a giggle escaped from her mouth, but quickly she clamped a hand over her lips so Luke wouldn't hear. "the other way is better for you anyway, okay pal? And I don't wanna see your mom upset, so you gotta be good." Lorelai's hand fell from her mouth as her face softened. She heard Luke sigh. "I'm gonna miss you kid." He confessed. Lorelai smiled as she reached to turn the volume back down, wanting to give her husband and son some privacy. She knew that the moments wouldn't be as frequent as they have been. Luke was going back to work today, not that he wanted to, but he had to. Though he did own the place, he planned on staying away for a while, and then going back, but Lane and her band were leaving on another tour today. They were planning on hitting up some more churches, and Caesar's mother was having health problems, which were turning out to be more serious than anyone thought, and the man has only been able to come in here and there, and with that, things were already tight. Lane was having to do everything, but luckily, Zach was looking for another job, so Luke hired him, which was working out, until this tour came up, and Luke assured them both over and over again that it was okay. He would just go back to work, full time, until he could hire someone else, so he wouldn't have to work full shifts. He couldn't just keep Lane and Zach from going, he really believed they had a shot.

Lorelai frowned, her head against the pillow, as she thought of how things were about to change. It wasn't that she thought she wouldn't be able to handle it, being along with a baby all day, because she knew she could, she did it with Rory, and the circumstances then weren't nearly as good as they are now, but she knew Luke would miss things. Moments; some new and some everyday kind of moments. She didn't want him to miss anything. Lucky for her, she owned the Dragonfly, and the staff count was more then okay. She didn't ever have to go back if she didn't want to. She would still be making money, even if she hardly went in, and Luke was in the same boat. Plus the savings they had, more of it originally being from Luke, so they were living comfortably, nothing compared to her parents, but still, they didn't need to worry. Lorelai was glad that she didn't' have to worry. She wasn't in the kind of situation she was when Rory was a baby. She didn't have to work everyday, and certainly not right away. Unfortunately though, for Luke, the plans changed and he had to start going back today.

_Later..._

It was past eight now and Luke had planned to leave before eight. He was going to be a one man show today, there was no one at the diner. He had wanted to be there to open for eight, much later then the time he usually opened which was about six, but that changed when he woke up and heard his son crying. As annoying as the sound could be, he knew he would miss hearing it. Miss being there to make it stop. Working alone, even if he closed early, just after dinner, which would be around seven, he knew by the time he would get home, Aaden could be sleeping, and the most Luke would get was the late night shifts, the multiple times that the baby woke, usually just wanting to be be fed or get a new diaper. That was it. Luke hated the thought of it, but he had no choice.

He sighed as he stood up from his chair, looking around as his hands pat over the pocket of his jeans to make sure he didn't forget anything.

Lorelai frowned, looking up at Luke with sad eyes, as her arm absentmindedly rocked the car seat that Aaden was laying in, his curious attention focused on his mom's hand as he tried his best to wrap his tiny fingers around her bigger one.

"You should go." Her voice just above a whisper as she looked down at her son, and seeing the smile on his face, like always, made a smile take over her lips, but this time it was a small one. "Daddy's gotta leave, baby." She said softly.

Luke took two long strides, his body coming to a stop when he reached the car seat, which was planted on the kitchen chair, next to Lorelai's. His lips turned to a regretful smile as he slid his hands under the baby's body and carefully lifted him from the seat. He cradled Aaden's head, while using his other hand to hold his covered bottom and bring the boy close to his chest. Luke rocked back and forth for a minute, smoothing his thumb over the bit of hair on the baby's little head.

Lorelai smiled, bringing her hand to gently grip Luke's arm.

He sighed, bringing his attention to his wife. Lorelai gave him a small nod.

He looked back to the baby in his arm, his face torn. "I'll see ya later, buddy." He said before kissing the top his head, then reluctantly handing the boy to his mom.

"Hey, baby." Lorelai smiled as she held his fragile body close to hers.

"Call me if you need something, _anything_." Luke stressed while leaning toward Lorelai

She nodded, planting a smile on her face, forcing her lips to curve as Luke kissed them.

He sighed while pulling back. "I know." He sympathized. "I hate this too."

Lorelai sighed, her lips frowning as she found Luke's gaze. "As much as I want this day to just go by, that's as much as I don't." She looked down at Aaden, whose head was buried in his mother's chest.

Luke nodded as he brushed a stray piece of hair from Lorelai's face.

"You won't miss anything." She promised. "I will have the digital camera, video camera, and phone close, ready to go if he does something amazing."

"Or something at all." Luke smiled.

"Right." Lorelai nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Anything at all."

"Good." Luke nodded. "I'll call you later, okay?" He asked, his voice muffled as his lips left their mark on her forehead.

Lorelai sighed at the feeling, closing her eyes as Luke's lips made contact with her skin. "Okay." Her voice dazed as she spoke.

Luke grinned as he pulled away. "Be good." His voice firm.

"Don't worry, I'll keep him in line." She smiled.

He shook his head. "No, you."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I promise, no running with scissors." She held up her hand .

"And?.." Luke trailed.

She sighed. "And no plotting to kill my mother, I know, now go." She smiled, shooing her husband away.

Luke smiled, giving Aaden one last kiss before turning to leave.

She watched him walk for a moment, then stopping him before he could leave the kitchen. "I love you!" Lorelai blurted.

Luke stopped, his lips pulling back about as far as they could go. His body turned to face her.

Lorelai gave him a shy smile.

Of course they exchanged the words before, but even after they got married, even after things started turning around, after they were able to get a hold of the situation and truly began to fix the damage; even now, they didn't say them too often. Not every night, not every day, not when the stage was set; when the words should be said, but during those split second, spontaneous moments. That's what made it even better. Not knowing when the other would hear it. The surprise of it all. It meant so much more.

"I love you too." Luke said, using adoring eyes to find his wife's inviting baby blue's.

"Bye hon." Lorelai smiled.

He nodded, taking in a breath before leaving.

_Later.. Yale.._

Jess maneuvered through the busy halls, dodging backpacks, bodies and coffee carts in his hast to get to Rory's dorm.

"Another idea?" Jess grinned, a cell phone, Rory's cell phone, which she had left in his apartment the previous day, pressed to his ear as he went. "... Yeah, well your last idea wasn't the brightest, so sorry if im a little hesitant on this one..." He shook his head. "... No, six times, six different people..." He shook his head, reminding his well intentioned, but sometimes hazardous friend of what happened with his ever so brilliant coffee idea. "...Iced or not, it still ruined the books... Yeah, I'll be up in two weeks, we'll have hash this out then...Okay, bye." Jess hung up, not ten seconds before he finally arrived at Rory's door.

Without thinking, he just opened the door, as it had become habit, and what he saw on the other side set him back a step.

_Meanwhile...Danes Home..._

"Look at you." Lorelai whispered, awing at her newborn son as he tried to get his hand into his mouth. They were laying on her bed, lounging around until Lorelai had to pack them up to leave. "You're just so cute, aren't you? The cutest baby I know, yes you are, and you know it, you now how cute you are, don't you, baby?" She cooed at her son, rocking his belly back and forth, which got her a smile in return. "Yeah, you do." She sighed. "Daddy would want to see this." She said, for what had to be the millionth time that day as she reached over her shoulder, to the night stand, to grab her digital camera. At first, she was aiming to take a still photo, but then she thought that a short video might do it more justice. So that's what she did; with the camera poised over Aaden, she hit record, and got about twenty seconds or so of the boy trying to fit his almost balled up fist, into his small mouth. "Your old man's gonna be happy when he comes home, not a single moment missed." She smiled, twisting the camera in her hand before setting it down on the table.

And when she turned back to face her son, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. "Speak of the devil." Lorelai grinned while plucking the device from its denim covered surroundings. Knowing Luke would want to call to check in, she told him to call her cell, because that could be set to vibrate or silent, that way, aside from the noise factor, something Aaden wasn't too thrilled about even in his waking hours, it wouldn't disturb his sleep, should he be in the middle of a nap.

"Hey stranger." Lorelai grinned.

"Hey." Luke answered, smiling into the phone as he wiped down the counter.

"Mid afternoon lull?" She guessed.

Luke nodded. "Yup. What's he doing?"

"Hanging with his mommy." Lorelai smiled, looking down at the boy to rattle his body again, which got her another wide smile, Aaden using the opportunity to gnaw on his hand. "And I think getting hungry, judging by his pruny hand." She frowned, gently pulling his hand from his mouth to inspect it."You hungry sweetie? You wanna eat before we go see Dr. Peterson?" She asked her son.

"It is after two." Luke reasoned after looking down at his watch, knowing his son's schedule, was almost always.

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded. "I should probably go feed him, we have to be there by three." Lorelai winced, not wanting to hang up so soon.

"Yeah, go, you know how he gets if he doesn't get fed the second he's ready," Luke grinned. "kinda like his mom, huh?" He teased.

"What are you implying?" Lorelai asking, smirking.

"Not implying anything, just _saying_ that you're impatient sometimes." Luke shrugged.

Lorelai nodded her eyes at the phone. "Well you're not exactly in line to be crowned the king of patienc either."

"I think waiting eight years for you proves the opposite." Luke smiled.

Lorelai's face relaxed, as her lips pulling into an adoring smile. "And you can be such a softy sometimes." She sighed.

"Don't spread that around." Luke warned.

"Wouldn't wanna ruin your reputation." Lorelai grinned, agreeing. v "We'll check in after the doctor, kay babe?"

"Okay," Luke nodded. "don't forget to tell them about the fever."

"I won't," Lorelai said. "and just so you know, I've been showing Aaden your picture all day, he even slept with it during his nap. The thing hasn't left his site, so don't worry, he won't forget the man who impregnated his mommy." She grinned. "I even tried getting my voice all deep and gruff, like yours, and holding the frame up to my face, so he would think I'm you, and luckily, he's only two weeks old, so I think he bought it."

"You're crazy." Luke shook his head, grinning.

"Which you knew before you married me, so sorry buddy, you're stuck with me." She smiled.

Luke let out a long sigh. "Guess so."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Goodbye." She said before hanging up.

_Yale..._

Jess cocked his eyes brows at the man sitting next to Rory.

"Hey Jess." The younger Gilmore smiled while looking up to find her boy friend standing in the door way.

"Hey." He said, his attention still focused on the mystery man.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rory shook her head, "Jess, this is Noah, Noah, this is my boy friend, Jess." She introduced.

"Hey." Noah looked up at the man with a smile.

Jess nodded, his face still guarded.

"Noah just recently transferred here, and he's new to the paper, so I'm showing him the ropes, helping him get settled in." Rory explained, while looking down at the mess on the coffee table. She had some old articles out to show him the set up, and was explaining when assignments are due, and things like that. "He was a sophomore at Harvard, but came here because his mom lives in New Haven and she's having medical problems." Rory frowned.

"Yeah," Noah nodded. "she had a heart attack, no one saw it coming."

Rory put her arm around his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic squeeze. Noah turned to look at her with a small smile.

"Rory, can I talk to you outside?" Jess asked while jerking his head to the door.

"Yeah, sure." She excused herself before standing up to follow Jess.

_Danes Home.. _

Thankfully, Aaden had fallen asleep after eating, which was making Lorelai's task of getting all of his things, as well as hers, packed up and ready to go, much easier.

Aaden was scheduled for his first doctor's appointment today, which as first, was okay, but then when problems with Luke's job came up, they had wanted to reschedule for Saturday, when Caser was coming back and would be able to take over for a while so Luke could step out. The new daddy wanted to be there for the first appointment, despite his dislike of hospitals, which Lorelai assumed, would aslo carry over to the pediatrician's office. She wasn't too fond of the place either, especially knowing what was in store for her baby, she went through it with Rory. Luke was unsure of the protocol and Lorelai hadn't really filled him on the details. She just told him that Aaden would be getting his height and weight done, things like that. Whether he put the whole picture together, Lorelai wasn't sure, but either way, even if he did, she knew he wanted to be there for his son's first appointment.

At first, rescheduling it for Saturday seemed okay, but then, last night, Aaden woke up with a fever. It wasn't anything too serious, the baby was just fussy, and his cheeks red, his forehead hot, so instinct and memory took over. Lorelai did the same she did for Rory when her first born got her first fever. They called a doctor, did as they were told, and after giving the baby some medicine, they just took turns rocking him and like clockwork, checking the fever. If it was to go up a significant amount, they were told to come straight to the hospital, but it didn't. It went down within the hour, and from then on the baby seemed okay. Even so, they didn't want to risk anything, so they kept the appointment for today. Neither Luke or Lorelai were too happy that he wouldn't get to be there, but it needed to be done.

Lorelai was just about ready to go; Aaden was sleeping soundly in his car seat, all of his things were packed in the diaper back, and Lorelai's purse was slung around her shoulder. All that was left to do was grab her keys from the kitchen, and just as she was reaching for them, the front door swung open.

Lorelai instantly panicked, the keys from the hand falling to the floor and her heart pounding in her chest. Aaden was inside. Alone.

Without giving it a thought, she turned and ran down the hall, but she didn't get very far before her hand flew to her chest.

"Oh my God! Luke! You scared me!" She exclaimed, her face frowning as she looked at her husband who was stopped at the car set.

He turned, a smile on his face as he looked at her. "Who'd you think it was?"

"I don't know," she shook her head, taking a second to gather herself before her legs started moving again. "I thought someone was breaking in or something."

"In brought daylight?" His face amused. "Must be a rookie burglar."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here, anyway? Why aren't you at the diner?" She questioned.

"Did you tell anyone what time the appointment was?" He asked.

"Just Rory and Sookie, why?" Lorelai asked, her voice fading as she turned back to the kitchen, just realizing that her keys were still there.

"Because Kirk came in about ten minutes ago saying that no one would be coming in for the next hour or so."

"What?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"Apparently, the town felt bad that I wouldn't be there, for Aaden's appointment, so they sent Kirk in to tell me that I can leave because everyone was instructed not to set foot through the diner for the next hour or so." He explained.

"Wow." Lorelai smiled as she came back down the hall. "What a strange little town we live in."

Luke nodded in agreement. "I'll take him, you got everything?"

Lorelai nodded, and with it, Luke took the handle of the car seat and led the way to the door.

Just as they were stepping outside, Lorelai's phone started buzzing in her pocket. "A text?" She questioned, frowning at the screen. Rory was the only one who ever sent her a text, and even that was rare.

"Rory?" Luke asked knowingly as he went to open the door to her jeep.

"Yeah," she said slowly, her attention focused on the screen as she read. "she needs to talk about Jess, she's gonna call me later." Lorelai told him after reading. "I wonder why she didn't just call now." Her face frowning.

"She probably knew about the appointment." Luke reasoned. "You think they had a fight?"

"I don't know, maybe." Lorelai shrugged, her eye brows furrowed as her eyes stayed on her cell. "That's gonna bother me." She said, looking up at Luke.

"Call her."

"No," Lorelai shook her head. "she said she'll call me later, maybe she's busy or something, or in a class, she is in college, she's gotta have class sometime."

Luke quickly finished locking the car seat in place then he turned to smile at Lorelai. "I'm sure she's okay." He said confidently. "And if she isn't, Jess will have me to deal with." He said while wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his chest.

"You'd beat up your nephew for my daughter?" A smile on Lorelai's face, and her tone bewildered as she tilted her head to look up at Luke. "Our daughter." She corrected.

"I'd snap his arm in half if he hurt her again."

"Good boy." Lorelai grinned before pecking a kiss to his flannel covered chest, then breaking from his embrace to get in the car.

Luke gave her butt a playful smack as she went. A devious smirk ready on his lips when she turned to look at him, laughing as she did.

_Dr. Peterson's Office..._

Aaden's height, weight, breathing, reflexes and everything else had been checked. And contrary to the saying, the worst was saved for last.

"Oh, I hate this part." Lorelai winced while the doctor prepped the spot where he would be giving Aaden a shot. One of the few that the baby would have to endure today.

Luke brought his hand to the small of her back, rubbing small circles as she held their baby close to her body while Dr. Peterson pulled out a fresh needle.

"I'm so sorry baby, I'm so sorry." Lorelai apologized while turning her head away, not wanting to see the needle.

Luke did the same, not wanting to see that needle pierce through his son's tender skin.

"I'll go as fast as I can." The doctor promised, smiling at the parents before bringing the needle to Aaden.

The shrieking cry started the very second the needle punctured through the baby's skin and the sound brought tears to Lorelai's eyes.

Luke's arms circled around Lorelai's waist as he pulled his chest against her back, holding her to him. He gently leaned his head on her shoulder to whisper soothing words.

As promised-although it didn't feel like it to Luke and Lorelai- the doctor worked as fast as he could, leaving a trail of sesame street band aides behind him.

Once the physical was over, he let the pair know that everything was okay with their son. Although he was a little tall for his age, which wasn't a surprise, neither a concern, everything was close to perfect.

"So, you wanna come to the next one?" Lorelai grinned as they walked to the car.

Luke shook his head. "Maybe you can handle these and I'll take diaper duty for a while."

"Deal." Lorelai nodded.

_.. to be continued..._

**Please, Please REVIEW!!**


	9. There's a New Nanny in Town

**Chapter Nine:**

_Friday Evening..._

Doing just as his wife instructed, Luke was busy going room to room; cleaning, tidying up, all in an effort to make the place look better than decent, which was what it was.

Out of the two, Luke definitely cared more if there were crumbs on the floor, because said crumbs attracted ants, and ants would lead to money just being thrown out the window; wasted on some exterminator who would probably over charge like crazy. Were as if say, a pizza box fell from the counter under Lorelai's watch, her method would be to just sweep those crumbs underneath the nearest rug. Out of site, out of mind, that was her motto, but today, today she danced to a different tune.

It was Friday, which meant the everlasting family dinner was to be served at exactly seven o'clock and not a moment later, or lord knows that would just ruin everything. So because the clock read a quarter to six, and like always drinks were served before dinner, at about six o'clock, Lorelai ordered Luke upstairs to clean up, warp speed. Should it have been done earlier so the poor guy wasn't rushing, practically working up a sweat in his haste to hit every corner of every room? Yes. Though that's easier said then done. Luke and Lorelai learned that the hard way.

Aside from everything that came along with having a new baby in the house- the baby alone could really slow things down- there was an incident earlier with Anna.

April was set to spend the weekend at her father's place with him, her step mom, and her little half brother. The plans were made so that the girl was going to be dropped off Saturday morning. Though of course, something had to go wrong.

There was something going on with Anna's mother. The older woman lives in New Mexico and was having health problems, nothing dire though. Anna had made plans to fly down there next month, during what would be April's winter break from school, but earlier, out of the blue, Anna called Luke saying something about a cheaper flight and having to leave early tomorrow morning. She wanted to bring April with her, who really wasn't all too thrilled with the idea. Plus she would have to miss school. That made Anna stop and try and think of something, a solution.

When April came on the phone begging Luke to save her, he did. He volunteered to look after her for the week so both Nardini's could get what they want.

So with the new plan set and in motion, things suddenly got a little complicated. For Luke, running over there to get his daughter was no problem, but having Lorelai fear what her parents would do when they got here and would find April, whom has never been to a family dinner before, and whom was only introduced to the elder Gilmore's in passing, was a problem. And then there was the time crunch that they were stuck in.

"I'm sorry." Luke apologized to April, who was following close behind her dad, helping to clean up.

"No, it's fun." She smiled.

"Fun?" Luke questioned, turning his head to give her a weird look.

"Well yeah," she shrugged. "it's interesting, like following a bread crumb trail. The human foot print, seeing the mess you and Lorelai leave behind on a daily basis, its like going through a person's trash. You learn about people that way." The teenager smiled, picking up an issue of People magazine that was on the floor of the bedroom, sticking out from under the bed. "See, like this, it's from October, that's three months ago, _three months_!" she empathized "So many questions can come from this, like, what was going on in the world of the rich and the spoiled that week? Did Lorelai use exact change to buy this? That is, assuming that she was the one to buy this, or maybe Rory did and she lent to to her mom. What kind of day was it? What was the big news breaking story that day? Did any of the adds inspire Lorelai to buy anything? Or Rory. When did it fall to the floor and get forgotten about? Who sold it to her? Where did she buy it? The questions are endless!" April awed as she flipped through the pages.

Luke shook his spinning head, taking a second to catch up. "You can uh, keep that if you want, test it or something." He shrugged.

"Fabulous! The girl exclaimed.

Luke grinned at his sometimes bizarre daughter.

_Downstairs..._

"Come on baby, no more crying." Lorelai frowned, pacing the kitchen floor with her fussy son close to her chest. The boy had just eaten and while normally, he conked out soon afterwards, today he decided that there was just too much going on for him to go to sleep and miss out. "Sweetie, grandma and grandpa are coming over and mommy has to clean up before they get here."

As Lorelai rounded the island to compete what had to be around forty laps, her eyes caught the pacifier that was sitting on the counter. She didn't like using it much, just sticking it in her baby's mouth to shut him up, that wasn't what she used it for. Usually just to hold him off while he was waiting for his bottle to warm up, or to help him get latched on to her breast. She could only imagine how many times her mother- or really, whatever nanny was employed that week- had just forced the thing in her mouth when she was a baby, just to get her to shut up. Lorelai didn't want to do that to her son, but it was ten to six and things were getting down to the wire.

Lorelai sighed, swiping the red binky from where it sat next to the bottle warmer and bringing the object to her son's mouth. She rubbed the nipple against his lips, hoping his mouth would open for it, and his cries would quite. He didn't.

"Lorelai!" Luke called as he and April came rushing down the stairs.

"Maybe you'll stop for daddy, huh baby?" Lorelai asked, looking down at her crying son as she left the kitchen.

"Hey." Luke frowned, seeing his son's red face, tears clouding his eyes and slowly running down his cheeks. "Upstairs is clear." He reported. "You want me to take him?"

Lorelai nodded. "I'm starting to loose feeling in my arms." Lorelai said, a bit of relief washing over her as she carefully transferred Aaden's small body to his father's waiting arms.

Luke smiled down at the boy as he took him. "Hey little man, what's wrong?" Luke asked the boy as he brought him close to his chest while jiggling a bit.

"He just ate so I know he's not hungry and his diaper is clean, he doesn't want the pacifier and he only got worse when I tried to put him down." Lorelai frowned as she rubbed her hand over the Red Sox emblem that was on the jumper he was wearing.

"I'll try rocking him." Luke shrugged, knowing the baby liked the motion of the rocking chair.

"He wouldn't let me sit down." Lorelai said, worried that his plan wouldn't work.

"Maybe not in those," Luke said, jerking his head to the kitchen. "but the one upstairs moves." He grinned.

"Good luck." Lorelai wished as he turned to leave.

Once he was out of site, she sighed, her head turning to the kitchen.

"Lorelai, you can sit down, relax, I can do the kitchen by myself." April offered.

"Really?" Lorelai asked, hopeful. Her parents could show up any minute and she could really use the time.

"Yeah." April assured her with a firm nod.

"Oh, bless you!" Lorelai smiled, moving a stride or two forward to wrap her arms around her step daughter. "But I'll have to pass on the sit down, I should change." She frowned, looking down at the over sized T-shirt and sweat pants that she was wearing.

"Maybe," April winced. "not that I care or dad, but your parents, they-"

"-Will care." Lorelai finished. "Emily most definitely. I'll be back." She promised before turning to dash up the stairs.

Lorelai took the stairs two at a time, rushing to get to her room.

She gave Luke a quick wave as she passed the nursery, then turning to go to the master bedroom and making a beeline for the walk in closet.

For a while now, she's hated even stepping foot in her two big closet- at least that's what Luke thought about it. Most of her clothes were pre-pregnancy. All of her size 4 jeans and small/medium tops taking over hanger after hanger. Those poor, neglected clothes haven't seen the skin on her body for almost a year now. It's been all maternity clothes; elastic pants and flowy tops. Nothing form fitting, nothing that could make Luke's jaw drop. Nothing that made her feel good when she put any of it on. Just things that fit. That's all a pregnant woman cares about; finding clothes that fit.

Although she did manage to lose some of the pregnancy weight since having Aaden, almost ten pounds. Breast feeding was like strapping a treadmill to her chest, she learned that with Rory, it really boost her metabolism, but still, she hadn't lost enough yet to fit into her old clothes.

"Stupid, fat, pregnant stomach." Lorelai complained as she reached for one of the smaller maternity tops. The only part of her body that the pregnancy had a positive effect on was her chest. And that mainly benefited Luke, which yes, then in turn benefited her, but even so.

Lorelai pulled the green T-shirt that she swiped from Luke's draw, over her head, and like they've been, her eyes traveled south, starring into the mirror to look at the scar on her lower stomach. She brought her hand to it and ran her finger over the mark. It was from the c-section. Something that she didn't get from Rory. In a way, she kind of liked it. It was something else to add to the list of things that made her last pregnancy different from her first, making them each even more more unique .

_Ding! Dong!_

"Crap." Lorelai panicked when she heard the bell sound.

"It's just me!" Rory's voice yelled. "Sorry! My bag hit the button!"

Lorelai sighed, quickly grabbing the shirt she pulled and throwing it over her head.

Not a minute later she was rushing down the stairs, and just as she finished the last one, the bell was ringing again.

She sped up a bit and once her hand had a grip on the door knob, she swung the door open to find her parents waiting on the other side.

"Hey mom, hey dad." Lorelai greeted. "Come in." She smiled.

"Thank you Lorelai." Emily nodded, giving her daughter a smile as she walked past her.

"Hello Lorelai." Richard smile. "How's Aaden doing?" He asked, eager to see the baby.

"He's a little cranky today." Lorelai winced, closing the door behind her, then following after her parents to the living room. "He's been fussy all day, he wouldn't let me put down for a second. We may as well have been Siamese twins, he was attached to my hip all day."

Emily frowned as her hands worked to unbutton her coat. "Luke didn't help you?" She asked. Her daughter had already made it more than clear that she wasn't going to hire a nanny, so Emily wasn't even going to ask if she's considered that. It was a matter that Emily was begging to see in a different light. With everything that's happened, she was thinking how things could have been different if she didn't hire nanny after nanny for all those years. If she just raised Lorelai on her own, with Richard. On the one side, she was glad Lorelai decided not to, but then she also knew how much a nanny could really help.

"No," Lorelai shook her head while taking her parents coats and heading for the closet, "he's been working all day. He and April just got here a little while before you did." Lorelai explained.

"April?" Emily questioned.

"Hey grandpa." Rory smiled as she came down the stairs, Richard being the first person she saw. Luke was close behind with a still fussy baby clamped to his chest. Although the crying had subsided, leaving just fussy whines to substitute.

"Hello Rory." The older Gilmore smiled.

"Hon, can you get April, she's been slaving away in the kitchen, go be her fairy godmother and relief her of her duties please."

"Okay," Rory nodded, turning to the kitchen.

"April's here?" Emily questioned.

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded, smiling, "it was a last minute thing, I didn't have a chance to tell you, but yeah, she'll be here for dinner." Lorelai said distractedly as most of her attention was on Aaden, her hand rubbing his back to try and calm him.

"I don't think he knows what he wants, nothing's calming him down." Luke frowned, at a loss.

"Maybe he wants his grandpa." Richard smiled, standing up from the couch to approaching his son in law. "Do you mind if I try?"

"Yeah, sure." Luke nodded. Then he carefully transferred his son to his grandfather's waiting arms.

Richard held the baby close, then once he had a good grip, he turned to slowly to pass Luke and Lorelai.

"He likes movement dad," Lorelai called after him, "If you keep rocking him that should at least keep him from crying."

"Alright." The man nodded, his attention gone, glued to his grandson.

Luke let out a breath, stretching his arms a bit to relieve them of the bent up position they were in.

"Hello Emily." He polity greeted his mother in law.

"Hello Luke." She smiled warmly.

"So, uh, how's everything?" He asked. Although they've been getting along a lot better, he still never really knew what to say to the woman.

"Everything is wonderful." She smiled. "And you? How's the diner?"

"Busy." Luke sighed. "I went back a little earlier than planned, we were short handed so I haven't been home much to help around here, but things are good." He nodded.

"I'm glad." Emily smiled.

Luke nodded . "Would you like anything to drink?" He offered.

"Yes, please," she nodded, "a martini would be lovely." The woman smiled.

"Coming up." He promised before going to the living room.

While Luke was gone, Lorelai moved to sit across from her mother and there was a moment of silence before Emily broke it.

"So you've been by yourself everyday?" Emily asked thoughtfully.

Loerlai nodded, frowning. "Things just got crazy at the diner and he had no choice but to go back."

Emily nodded. "Leaving you home with Aaden all day, correct?"

Lorelai sighed. "Oh mom please don't go where you're going, I already-"

"-Maybe I could help." Emily offered, interrupting Lorelai before she could finish.

Lorelai's brows furrowed, her face turning to confusion. To say she was taken back would be an understatement. "Help?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes," Emily nodded, "after all, your father's gone a good part of every day, sometimes days at a time, working, and the DAR only meets twice a week, most of our social gathers are on weekends, it wouldn't be a problem for me to come by a few hours whenever Luke is working." She shrugged.

"Wow." Lorelai awed. "I might take you up on that."

"Good." Emily nodded, smiling. "You just think about it and let me know."

"I will." Lorelai promised.

Surprisingly, the night went very smoothly. It seemed that the special guest really had an impact on everyone.

When Luke went to get a drink for Emily, he found the two girls, Richard and Aaden, all gathered around the kitchen table. The baby had really quieted down, only hiccups coming from his small body as he watched the interactions that were going on around him. As it turned out, Richard really took an interest to April. They must have touched on every author by the time dinner was over. Their conversations were not stop and Rory, having similar interests, was just as much apart of it all.

Lorelai was surprised that even her mother liked the girl. Emily admired how smart she was, and the extensive vocabulary she used, the exact words the woman used to describe the girl.

The elder Gilmore's only met April once. An evening like tonight not having ever happened before, and they all really took the chance to get to know each other. Richard even requested her presence at next week's dinner; the last thing he said to Lorelai before leaving.

"You two be good." Lorelai warned Rory and April.

"We will." They said in unison, both grinning.

"Especially you missy." Loreali looked at Rory.

"Don't worry, I'll bring her back in one piece."

"Anymore than that and you keep her." Luke chimed in.

"Duly noted." Rory nodded. "We'll see you in the morning." She smiled before kissing her mother's cheek.

"Bye Lorelai." April smiled as she wrapped her scarf around her neck.

"Bye sweetie." She smiled, hugging her step daughter. "And no boys." She warned, pointing her index between the two of them as she pulled away.

"Damn." Rory sighed. "And I was finally planing to invite those bikers and low life's over."

"Hey, that only works if you're living with your mommy, but you, my almost Yale graduate, are not, so sorry, that ship has long sailed."

"Sorry April." Rory winced as she buttoned her coat.

"Yup, no risky business for you kiddies, now shoo, shoo, go have your sleep over." Lorelai smiled, playfully pushing them out the door.

"Bye dad!"

"Bye Luke!" They both called as they left.

Luke waved goodbye as he came down the hall, Aaden laying on his chest.

"He asleep?" Lorelai asked as she turned to Luke.

"Yup." He nodded. "And hopefully for the night."

Lorelai gave Luke a lazy smile, nodding in agreement.

"We'll clean up tomorrow, I gotta get some sleep." Luke said just before yawning.

"I'm surprised you made it this late grandpa." Lorelai teased. "It's past your bed time."

"And I'll make up for the lost time tomorrow." He said, holding out his hand for her to take as he headed for the stars.

Lorelai nodded. "So I think I'm hiring a nanny." She said nonchalantly as they went up the flight.

"What?" Luke asked, his tone demanding for an explanation.

"Yup, nanny Gilmore's looking for some work." She grinned.

_Next Day... _

Rory and April had woken up pretty late on Saturday, close to twelve, having spend a good chunk of the previous night watching movies. By the time they left the house it was almost three.

Before going back to see their parents, they stopped by the video store to return the rentals, and then to Luke's to get some fries to go.

April was munching on her last on as they walked through the front door.

"Mom?" Rory called into the unusually quiet house.

"Dad?" April tried.

They got nothing but silence.

"Maybe they went out?" Rory shrugged.

"With Aaden?" April questioned. "And both cars are here."

"Right." She realized. "How bout you go that way," Rory pointed to the kitchen, "and I'll go up."

The two split up and after finding the nursery empty, Rory peaked into the bedroom and couldn't help but smile at the site of the three Danes asleep on the bed. Her little brother between his parents, facing Lorelai, who was on her side with her arm hung over the baby's small body.

Quietly, she closed the door, her brain formulating a plan as the knob clicked.

_.. to be continued..._

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	10. Feels Like the First Time

**Chapter Ten:**

Lorelai took in a breath, her legs curling back and forth as her eyes slowly opened. She sighed, a content, happy smile tugging at her lips from the site in front of her. Luke was sleeping, and like always, a part of his body was touching hers; his arm across Aaden's small body, leading to his hand, which had a gentle grip on her hip. The comforting sounds of Luke's soft snores coming from his chest, which, at first, used to bother Lorelai. The sound would keep her up at night, but now she knew that she couldn't sleep without it, which she learned the hard way.

Her eyes strayed from his face, down his neck, to land on his chest, where her gaze remained for a moment, just watching his chest rise and fall with each intake and release of breath. She had missed this; being able to just watch her husband. His schedule was so crazy lately with the dinner that he was always gone before she woke up. And even before he went back to work, mornings like this were few and far; the baby's early morning cries sending both parents flying into the nursery. Lorelai hadn't had this chance in a while, to just watch her husband. Being able to now; being able to just lay next to him and watch him breathe, it was a comfort. It put her mind at ease.

Carefully, Loerlai took her hand from her baby's little tummy and reached to lay her open palm on the gray cotton tank that Luke was wearing, right over his beating heart. She gasped when Luke's hand clamped around her wrist.

"Hey," he smiled lazily, opening his tired blue eyes to look at her.

"Hey," Lorelai whispered, a grin threatening her lips.

"You were staring," he accused, having been up a for a little while now; he heard when she woke up.

"You got a pretty face," she smiled, keeping her tone low.

"I do not," he argued, rolling his eyes at the comment.

Lorelai was about to argue when in passing, something caught her eye. "What is that?" She asked while pushing her body up to peak over Luke's shoulder.

"What?" Luke asked, turning to watch as she reached over him, snatching the folded up piece of paper that sat on his night stand.

_Sniffy's cordially invites you to attend a fabulous dinner tonight, at seven sharp. Babysitting services will be provided so you can enjoy a baby free evening. Please dress formally, aka no milk stained blouses or pee stained jeans. And don't be late. _

"Wow," Lorelai awed.

"They _cordially _invited us?" Luke asked, knowing that Buddy and Maisey weren't the kind of people to _cordially_ invite anyone, anywhere.

"No, Rory did." Lorelai was too distracted by the shock of it all, that she only realized after the fact, that she missed a prim sarcastic opportunity to her hubby's question.

"Rory?" Luke questioned, leaning up to get a look at the paper.

"Yeah," Lorelai answered, her brows creased from confusion as she stood up to leave, the invitation falling from her lap as she went.

Lorelai took the stairs quickly, making a beeline for the living room once she reached the first floor.

"Do you know what you're getting yourself into?" She demanded, stopping in front of the couch, where Rory was busy typing away on her laptop.

"Have a good nap?" The younger woman smiled, briefly looking up from the screen to smile at her mom.

"He may be small, but he can scream with the best of 'em."

Rory sighed, bringing her hand to close the screen. "Please let me do this, mom." She begged. "It will be a month just days from now since you and Luke have had a night to yourselves. You're both burnt out, you need time away, just you and Luke."

Lorelai let out a short breath. Some time away did sound pretty good to her at the moment. "And you don't have plans or anything? Lane? Jess?"

Rory shook her head, "if you remember, Lane is still touring, and Jess is in Philly." She explained. "Plus, I've got help. April's here. I think combined, the two of us can handle Aaden for the night."

"Yeah, mayb- wait, night?" Lorelai asked, the word just catching her attention. "As in the _whole_ night? Even after dinner?"

Rory nodded, her smile growing at the next part of her surprise, "here," she held out a key to her mother, "April swiped it from Luke's key ring, it's the key to-"

"-I know what it's for," Lorelai interrupted, having used it quite a few times herself, "but what I don't know is if this is a good idea, Rory." She winced at the idea.

"What's not to know? You don't want a night off? Just you and Luke? You wouldn't have to worry about Aaden." She tried to entice. "We can handle him. You even said it yourself, his sleeping schedule is getting better. He isn't waking up as many times anymore. We'll be fine," Rory assured her.

Truthfully though, it wasn't Aaden that Lorelai was worried about. Not entirely anyway.

She bit down on her lower lip as her brows cocked with worry.

"Mom?" Rory questioned, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Lorelai waved off. "I just- I'm nervous." She admitted.

"Nervous?" Rory asked curiously. "About you and Luke?"

Lorelai nodded.

"About being alone with him?"

Again, she nodded.

Rory was a bit confused, but after a moment, her mind processed and was able to come out with the exact source of her mother's doubts.

"You haven't- been close," she choose her words consciously, not too keen with the idea of talking about her mother's sex life, or really, lack there of, "since before Aaden." She stated, not questioning.

"Since wayyy before Aaden." Lorelai corrected. "Since before there was visual proof of Aaden."

"Oh." Rory nodded, her mind taking a second to do the math. "Wow," she awed.

Lorelai nodded, coming up with a number as well, "I just- I don't know if he- I- really shouldn't be talking to you about this." Lorelai laughed nervously. "That's probably listed in the top ten don't s, guide to parenting. Number five- don't discuss your sex life with your kid, or the result may be permanent scarring." She babbled. "Are you permanently scarred?"

"Yes," Rory nodded, "but don't' worry, the scarring started a long time ago and has continued on through the sexy teacher talk to the guy with a beanie hat-"

"-He didn't have a beanie hat!" Lorelai defended.

"- To the drunk coyote bar dance-"

"- Not one of my shining moments, I'll admit it," Lorelai held up her hands.

Rory grinned, "-To Luke cooking naked in our kitchen-"

"-He was not naked!"

Rory shook her head, "-No, but at some point, you know you would be lying to me if you said you never got Luke to cook naked in our kitchen."

A devious grin took Lorelai's lips as she looked away, avoiding Rory's eyes.

"Thought so." The younger woman smiled. "And now here we are, determining how long its' been since you and Luke have-"

"-Done the horizontal mombo?" Lorelai filled in.

"Yup, and the scarring just keeps on going."

"Sorry," Lorelai giggled.

Rory rolled her eyes. "I think I'll pass this one off to Sookie. She isn't your daughter and at least she has experience to speak from."

"Oh Sookie!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Good idea!" She smiled. "I should stop by the Inn, I could break the news to Michel that I haven't died from exhaustion. Yet." She grinned.

"Yes, good idea." Rory nodded, patting her mother's knee with approval.

Lorelai nodded before turning to hurry upstairs.

_Upstairs... Bedroom..._

Her pace was quick as she traveled through the hall, only slowing down when she approached the door to her bedroom. Her feet came to a stop as she took in a calming breath. She didn't want to seem to eager or nervous to Luke.

"Hey," she smiled while walking through the room. .

"Hey," Luke's muffled voice greeted; his hands rubbing his tired and confused face. "You find out about this?" He asked, freeing hands to hold up the invite.

"Um, yeah," Lorelai nodded, looking up in her vanity mirror to make eye contact with Luke.

"And...?"

"Rory and April are insisting on taking Aaden so we can go to dinner tonight." She explained, lifting a brush to push it through her stubborn, tangled curls.

"What'd you say?" Luke asked cautiously, wondering if she was okay with the idea.

"I tried, emphasis on _tried_, to say no, but with Rory, if there's a will, there's a way. She refused to hear me say no. She said we need this, that we haven't had a break in a while." Her gaze firm on mirror, glued to Luke's to see what his reaction would be.

"We do." Luke nodded.

"Yeah?" Lorelai asked, her lips turning to a shy smile.

Luke nodded, matching her smile.

"Plus, we haven't seen Buddy and Maisey in a while." She added as enticement.

Luke nodded in agreement, though he was just realizing what leaving would mean. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" Lorelai asked after watching his movements.

"I don't know;" Luke winced, "both of us leaving Aaden- I don't know.":

"Yeah," Lorelai sighed, feeling the same way, " he can be handful, but it's not like Rory's never been around babies before. She's watched Martha and Davy and the basic protocol is pretty much the same for all babies. Plus she'll have April to help."

Luke nodded as his mind worked to weigh the possible outcomes. He knew everything Lorelai said was true, but he was just nervous about this. Either he or Lorelai were always with the baby, never was Aaden left alone with anyone else.

Lorelai let a moment of silence go by as she continued brushing her hair, until it got to be too much for her and she turned to look at Luke.

"So what do you say? And keep in mind that you can't say no, because that is not an option. Rory has made that very clear." Lorelai grinned.

Luke's shoulders fell as he let out a breath. "Yeah, okay."

"Love your enthusiasm, babe."

_Dragonfly Inn..._

"Hey Michel."

The man's eyes brows cocked as slowly, he lifted his head. It couldn't be her, he thought, it just couldn't be.

With sparkling eyes and a grin almost too big for her face, Lorelai waited patiently for Michel to look at her. When he finally did, happy would be no where near the emotion that would explain how he looked.

"What are you doing here?" His jaw clenched as he looked at her with narrowed yes.

"Well hello to you to Michel."

"Why you are here?!" He demanded, on the verge of hysterics. "Sookie said you weren't coming back until after the child's christening! Why are you back so early?!"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. It seemed that the moody French manager tended to forget who signs his pay checks. "Relax Senior cranky pants. I'm not back for good yet, just stopping by to say hi to Sookie and while I was here, I thought I'd observe you for a little while. Make sure you're doing your job correctly. So go ahead, go about your business, just pretend I'm not here." Lorelai urged, waving her hand at him as she turned to sit down.

Michel watched with still narrowed and now curious eyes, as Lorelai did exactly what she said she would. She went and planted her butt on a chair without taking her eyes from him for even a second.

Their gazes held for just shy of ten seconds before Michel turned on his heel, huffing and muttering as he turned towards her office.

Lorelai smiled, laughing a she got up to go to the kitchen.

"Sookie!" Lorelai exclaimed as she swung the door open.

The woman spun around so fast that the wooden spoon in her hand went flying across the room to hit poor Manny square on the head.

"You're back!" She squealed, tossing the bowl in her arms, carelessly on the counter behind her.

Lorelai smiled while opening her arms to her best friend. "No, not back, just visiting."

"I miss you here." Sookie frowned over Lorelai's shoulder. "It's hard to annoy Michel without you, he isn't scared of me."

Lorelai laughed. "Well I can dangle that precious pay check of his, like teasing a fish with a hook of bate- learned that from Luke, hook of bate-, so that gives me an upper hand, but don't' forget, you're part owner, you can do the same."

"But I don't sign checks, you do."

"Ah, but Michel doesn't' have to know that. You know he doesn't bother looking at anything but the number." Lorelai grinned.

"True." Sookie smiled as she parted from Lorelai and turned to start up some decaf. "So how's everything at home. Last time I was there, things were very hectic." She winced.

"Still hectic." Lorelai nodded before popping a berry in her mouth. "This is Luke's first day off in weeks, so it's good."

"He's home?" Sookie gasped.

"Yeah." Lorelai nodded, her brows knitting. "He's with Aaden, having some daddy-baby time, why?"

"What are you doing here then?!" Sookie exclaimed. "Luke's finally home and you can get some aloe time while Aaden's napping. Did he nap yet? It's only two, he didn't nap yet, right? You should go, before he does go down for a snooze." Sookie urged, waving her arms frantically towards the door.

"Sookie, spoon." Lorelai cautioned, backing away from the giant spoon the was being waved dangerously close to her face.

"Oops, sorry," the klutzy woman giggled while stilling her hand.

Lorelai smiled. "And trust me, there's no need to worry about a lack of alone time. Luke and I are going out later for dinner."

"You are?!" Sookie grinned.

Lorelai nodded, a small smile taking her lips as she looked down to grab another berry.

Sookie's brows furrowed, her lips frowning as she eyed her friend. "Why do I seem more exited about this then you do?"

"I'm excited." Lorelai defended quickly before biting down the fruit.

"You don't seem it." The chief argued.

Lorelai sighed, her worried eyes finding Sookie's questioning ones. "No, I am, really, I'm just- I-"

"What?" Sookie's tones soft as concern took her features.

Lorelai ducked her head. "Well, its' been a while, you know? And I just- I don't know what- I don't- How does it feel?" She blurted, her tone almost begging for an answer.

"How does what feel?" Sookie asked curiously, a little lost.

Lorelai looked around uncomfortably, suddenly very aware of everyone in the room. She put her hand to Sookie's shoulder and guided her to the empty dining room.

"Sex." She explained once they were in the clear. "How did it feel after all that time? After having Davy and Martha? I mean it's been months since Luke's even gotten up my shirt and tonight we'll be baby free. I haven't told Luke this part yet, but Rory offered to take Aaden for the whole night so Luke and I could have a break, get some alone time in and I don't know if anything will happen, but if it does, I want to know what to expect. I have no frame of reference here. After I had Rory, it was years until I had so much as went out with a guy, let along did the dirty and I'm a little scared." She confessed.

Sookie gave her friend a sympathetic smile. "I feel like I'm back in high school with Jimmy Dunning in the back seat of his dad's Ferrari, just before he undid my bra; I was scared as hell, which I hid very well, but because I lied to him and said, 'oh no, don't worry, I've done this before,' he just stuck it right in there, which hurt. A lot. And now, I feel like its' my first time all over again. What do I do?" Lorelai sighed.

Sookie laughed, her eyes looking at Lorelai with understanding. "You know Luke would never hurt you ,sweetie."

"I know," Lorelai nodded, "but I'm not just worrying about pain here. It's just been such a long time and I just- I don't know what's going to happen and that scares me."

"It is a little scary," Sookie admitted, "but what you and Luke have, it's amazing." She smiled in awe. "You told me about your first date, remember? You said that was the first time you had sex with a man on the first date."

Lorelai nodded, her face smiling. "It didn't feel like a first date; we were friends for so long. It just felt- right, to be taking that next step so quickly, but then again, not so fast, it felt right."

Sookie nodded. "Do you want it? Do you want to have sex with Luke tonight?" She asked point blank.

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded, her lips turning to a softer smile, "Yeah, I do. I miss him, you know?"

"Then you just have to let it happen, sweetie." She said. "You'll go on your date later and it will feel like the first one and you'll get all excited and anxious and nervous and you'll get that feeling in the pit of your stomach and then he'll put his arms around you and he'll kiss you." Sookie went on, grinning. "And you'll forget how scared you were and things will just happen. You'll see."

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded, smiling at the memory of her first date with Luke. "I hope so."

... to be continued...

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	11. Another Branch On The Family Tree

**Chapter Eleven:**

It always seemed that whenever Lorelai really needed to find that oh- so- special outfit, there wasn't a damn thing in her closet, yet when she needed to just throw something on, there were way too many clothes to choose from. Well for Lorelai Danes, this is one of those oh- so- special occasions and a headache was forming in her tired head as she kept turning in circles.

"Hey."

Lorelai turned, her hand flying to her heart to keep it from pounding out of her chest. "God, Rory, you scared me!" She sighed, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

The younger woman grinned, smiling at her mother's appearance. She was in nothing but one of her hubby's flannels. "Luke's waiting for you."

"I know," Lorelai nodded as she planted her hands back on her hips and turned again to survey the closet.

After doing another 360 around the room, she turned to look at her daughter with pleading eyes, "help."

Rory smiled. "First, why don't we start by getting you at the right side of the closet," she said while putting her hands on Lorelai's shoulders to turn her mother's body. "The baby's out, but the maternity clothes aren't, so stay on this side," she ordered firmly.

Lorelai frowned."But all my nice clothes are over there," she pouted, turning her head to look sadly at her pre- pregnancy things.

"I know," Rory sympathized, "but you're not ready for those yet. They're still a little small." She choose her words carefully.

"But I'm going on a date tonight, I have to look nice," Lorelai argued, her attention still behind her. "Luke isn't gonna wanna see me in this," her hand tugged on a hanger, pulling on a pair of her maternity jeans.

"Well you don't have to wear that," Rory said gently, pulling her mom's hand back. "How bout a skirt?" She tried, lifting up a powder blue, elastic waisted skirt that fell just above the knees.

Lorelai crinkled her nose at the item.

"I'll take that as a no," Rory noted, putting the offending skirt back where she found it. "Hey, what about this?" She asked, holding up another skirt, this one black and the rise a bit higher.

Lorelai shook her head.

"Well let's narrow this down then," she said while putting the skirt back. "Do you want to wear a skirt, pants, or a dress? You have some nice dresses here," Rory's face perked up as she reached for a mid sleeved, deep-v, black wrap dress.

Lorelai sighed as she looked at the dress. It was one of the smaller fitting maternity pieces she had, something she bought fairly early on in her pregnancy and the item was mainly served to cover the baby bump that she had. It fell a good few inches above the knees, had a deep V for a good display of cleavage, and the wrap around did a good job of hiding her early baby belly.

I guess," Lorelai grumbled.

Rory smirked. "Don't guess, wear," she said while holding up the dress.

Lorelai snatched it from her daughter's outstretched hand, hooking the hanger over her head to hold the material up against her body.

"It's perfect, mom," Rory smiled, nodding approvingly at the choice.

Lorelai shook her head in argument. "No, _that's_ perfect," she pointed to a dress behind behind Rory, on the "other" side.

Rory turned to follow her mom's finger and frowned when she saw what it was pointing at. "Your back together dress," she nodded with realization, pulling the hanger to get a closer look.

"Yeah," Lorelai's voice said. "That dress did it's job, and then some," She grinned.

"Ew, don't be gross," Rory winced.

Lorelai smiled. "Sorry," she apologized.

Rory stuck her tongue out at her mom before looking back at the dress, then to Lorelai. "You know, it shouldn't be too long before you can wear this again."

"I hope so," Lorelai nodded in agreement.

"Probably in a couple of weeks," Rory shrugged.

"Yup, but for now," Lorelai sighed, "Luke has to settle."

_Downstairs..._

"You've been adjusting that thing for ten minutes," April grinned as she came up behind her dad with Aaden against her chest.

"No I haven't," Luke grumbled in argument as his fingers pulled at the tie around his neck to loosen it, only to, seconds later, pull it tight again.

April smiled. "You look fabulous dad, stop messing with your tie," she ordered firmly. "And say goodbye to Aaden."

Luke sighed, deciding enough was enough and he turned, a smile taking his lips at the sight of his baby. "Hey little man." He took the boy in his arms, immediately using his hands to cradle the baby's little butt and head against his chest.

Aaden tilted his head up as best he could to find the source of the noise and when he found it, his hand reached up to grip his fathers' chin, but his small hand wasn't quite strong enough yet and all his fingers could do was scratch against his daddy's scruffy chin.

"Careful pal, nails," Luke cautioned, taking his son's arm and lowering it back to his chest. "You gonna be good while we're gone?" He asked as he tickled the spot right under Aaden's mouth and the boy's lips turned, giving Luke a gummy smile.

The man laughed, looking down at Aaden with an adoring smile. He kissed his son's forehead, then bent down to lay him on his play mat. Luke flicked the switch and with it, the toy came to life, playing music as lights danced across the bar. Aaden looked up, instantly entranced at the changing colors, and watched as they went across.

Just as Luke turned away from Aaden to once again, check himself in the mirror and fuss with his tie, Lorelai was just lowering her foot to take the stairs, though her body came to a sudden stop, a panicked look on her face as she turned to look at Rory, who nearly bumped into her mom.

"I change my mind," her voice whispered.

"What?" Rory asked, furrowing her brows.

"I can't do this. It's too weird. I'm too nervous," Lorelai rattled quickly, her eyes begging for Rory to understand.

"Mom, relax," Rory whispered, matching Lorelai's tone. "It's Luke, you know Luke, you like Luke, remember? There's nothing to be nervous about," she said, her voice soothing as she took her mom's hands. "It's Luke."

Lorelai blew out a long, quiet breath, taking the moment to relax herself.

"You good?" Rory asked after letting a minute of silence pass.

Lorelai nodded.

Rory gave her mom's hands a quick, reassuring squeeze before releasing them and turning Lorelai's body back to face the stairs.

Lorelai closed her eyes, taking in the quickest breath before sticking her foot out to the step below her.

The sound of her heels clicking against the hard wood floor sparked Luke back to reality and his body quickly spun around as his hands fell from his tie. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open at the sight in front of him.

A shy smile took Lorelai's lips at her husband's starring and she ducked her head as her legs finished up their journey.

"You look-amazing," Luke said, using the only word that he could think of at the moment; he was so mesmerized.

Lorelai's lips widened the farthest they could go, just about flashing everyone of her pearly whites to her hubby. "You don't look so bad yourself," she grinned.

Luke smiled, hooking his arms around her possessively and rubbing his open palms up and down her back.

Lorelai sighed at the jolts of warmth his hands were sending through the thin material of her dress and onto her skin.

"Still kids in the room, just thought I'd remind you," April smiled as she turned to the kitchen.

"Not anymore," Luke grumbled, his eyes not budging from Lorelai's intense gaze.

"Okay you two, let's go, your dinner is awaiting," Rory smiled as she maneuvered around them to open the front door and hold out her arms in invitation.

Luke turned to give Rory a nod as he took back one of his arms and used the other to usher his date through the door.

"Bye sweets," Lorelai stopped to kiss her daughter goodbye. "Thank you," she whispered in Rory's ear.

"Just remember, the man loves you like crazy; God only knows why, but he does," she grinned.

Lorelai rolled her eyes, smiling as she pulled away. "Bye April!" She yelled, and Luke echoed her words.

"Bye!" The teen called, popping into the hall to wave.

The two adults were about to turn to the car when Lorelai suddenly realized she forgot something. "Oh, Aaden!" She made a move to slap her palm against her forhead as she quickly went back to the house. She made a beeline for her baby, who was lying on the floor, lifting his arms around in an effort to catch the moving lights that were going across the bar above his head, occupying all sorts of shapes like stars, hearts, circles, triangles, and etc.

"Bye little boy," Lorelai smiled at her son as she knelled down next to him. "I love you. Be a good boy for your sisters. I'll see you in the morning." She pressed kisses to his chubby little cheeks than planted a last one on his forehead before she stood up and hurried out the door to catch up with Luke who was waiting next to the truck.

"Have her home by ten!" Rory called after them.

Luke stopped, his brows furrowed as he looked at Rory. "Ten?" He questioned.

"A.M," she added, grinning.

_Car..._

"You're shaking," Luke frowned, one hand on the wheel while the other held Lorelai's hand, his thumb absentmindedly going across her knuckles. He glanced at her, frowning, before he looked back at the road.

"I am?" She questioned, tearing her eyes from the side window to look down and find that her hand was restless; shaking against Luke's palm. She pulled her arm back, bringing both hands close to her face, trying to will them to stop. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, trying to get those damn butterflies to stop flying around her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"Nothing," she covered quickly.

"Nothing?" He repeated, looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"I'm just a little nervous, that's all." she dismissed her emotions, trying to make her nerves settle.

Luke nodded, laying a hand on her bare thigh. "I am too," he confessed, giving her a quick glance.

Lorelai's brows furrowed. "You are?" She asked, surprised to hear that.

Luke nodded. "Kinda feels like the first date, you know?"

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded, the butterflies movements suddenly slowing down as her lips turned to a smile, "I do."

_Sniffy's..._

"You think they know we're here?" Lorelai whispered, tilting her head back to look at Luke as they walked through door.

"Probably," Luke nodded, a smile on his face as he put his hand to the small of Lorelai's back.

"You're late!" A voice boomed; a voice they recognized they to be Maisey's.

"Well that answers that question," Lorelai said before looking up to smile at Maisey.

"Where is he?" The older woman asked, a frown taking her lips as she looked between Luke and Lorelai.

"Who?" Luke asked, confused.

"Aaden," Lorelai filled in. "I'm sorry Maisey, we didn't bring him," she winced, mentally slapping herself for not realizing to bring the baby; that Buddy and Maisey would want to see him.

"Well of course you didn't bring him," Maisey waved off. "You're on a date, you don't bring a baby on a date, but Rory said you'd have pictures; since you two haven't come by since you had the baby, the least you could do is bring a picture so I could see who he looks like."

Lorelai smiled, slipping her purse from her shoulder. "Of course I have pictures," she nodded while pulling out her wallet. "Luke's got one too," she turned to look over her shoulder. "You wanna be the proud daddy and show off your mini me, or can I have the honors tonight?"

Luke grinned, telling her yes by simply jerking his chin at her wallet.

Lorelai nodded, turning back around to hold open her wallet, which had a picture of a sleeping Aaden who was cuddled to his father's chest, who had also dozed off while rocking the baby. "And here we have Luke 2.0."

Maisey took the wallet from Lorelai, a smile on her face as her eyebrows cocked with curiosity. She looked back and forth a few times, between Luke, Lorelai, and the picture. "Yup, he's a little Luke," she concluded. "Accept the chin, that's not your chin, Lucas."

"And my eyes, he has my eyes!" Lorelai added. "And that's about it. The rest is all Luke," Lorelai sighed. "Sometimes you can't even tell/ It's like I didn't help at all, that this guy over here did it all on his own," she threw her arm back to touch Luke's chest.

"You just show everyone that scar and they'll know better," Maisey grinned while putting her arm over Lorelai's shoulder to guide her to her and Luke's usual table.

Lorelai nodded, absentmindedly bringing her hand to run her finger over her dress, right where over her scar.

"Buddy, get out here! The kids are here!" She yelled, than turned back to Lorelai. "You know, I should be mad that all I got was a call, and a late one at that."

Lorelai frowned. "Blame Luke, I was a little, uh, occupied at that moment to be making any calls."

Maisey nodded, smiling deviously, already having a plan in mind.

_Later..._

"You know, a normal person would be happy to be having cake for dinner," Lorelai smiled while pointing her chocolate covered fork at Luke's untouched plate.

"No," Luke shook his head, "a normal person doesn't _have_ cake for dinner," he grumbled, making a face at the giant piece of cake that sat on his plate.

Lorelai smiled while cutting another piece to pop into her mouth.

"Well at least they still like me," Lorelai shrugged.

Luke sighed, dropping his fork. "I didn't mean to wait so long," he said gruffly. "Things just got crazy, I even forgot to call April right away, and I just- I don't know what-"

Lorelai stopped him, dropping her fork to put her hand over his hand as she quickly gulped down the piece of cake that was in her mouth. She looked at her husband with a sympathetic smile. "They know, babe," she assured him "They know," she nodded firmly.

Luke nodded tentatively, still a bit unsure.

Lorelai pressed a gentle kiss to his scruffy cheek, whispering that she had an idea.

"What?" He asked curiously, turning his head to look at her.

"Well I was thinking that we try and make this more regular again. Try and come here at least once a week, like we used to, and bring the kids more, and now Aaden and maybe branch out the family dinners more too. I know they're like family to you," Luke nodded. Lorelai smiled. "So I was thinking that we could them over sometimes. They've never been to the house, and we already have a weekly thing going with my parents, why not start that with Buddy and Maisey too? Maybe we could even wrangle them into babysitting every now and then, what do you say?" She grinned.

Luke smiled. "Yeah, they'd like that."

"And you?"

"As long as the cake stops," he warned.

Lorelai smiled. "If you're a good boy and eat your dinner, I'll call them off," Lorelai promised.

... to be continued...

Please Please **REVIEW!!**


	12. From Mexico to the Brady Bunch

**Chapter Twelve:**

_Around eight a.m..._

Luke took in a long breath as he rolled from his back onto his side. He stuck his arm out, expecting to find Lorelai's hip, but instead his hand was met with the bed sheet. He felt around a bit, trying to find if she rolled away from him in her sleep. When he came up empty, Luke sighed, his eyes peeping open and his fingers gripping around the side of the empty bed next to him.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the early morning light that leaked in through the flimsy curtains but when they did, his brows cocked when he didn't see his wife. Though it took a second for his brain to catch up with his eyes, when it did he remembered that his apartment was bigger than what he could see right now.

"Lorelai?" He called, his voice deep and groggy from sleep.

"Is not here right now, please leave a message after the beep," she said quickly as she clamped her hand around the phone and moved further towards April's side of the room.

Luke sighed. "You promised," he reminded her as he clutched Lorelai's pillow and curled it close to him.

"I'm just gonna leave a message, that's all," she defended herself.

"You made _me _promise too," Luke said duly as he closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of his wife's pillow. The fibers still smelled like her fruity shampoo.

"And I'm not breaking my promise," she said as her home message played through her cell. "Go back to sleep," she urged, "I'll be right there."

"They're fine. You don't have to call," Luke said, trying to ease Lorelai's nerves as well as his own. "Rory knows what she's doing and April's been around plenty of kids. She's got more cousins than anyone can count. You don't have to call them and if Aaden is asleep, you could have woken him up."

Lorelai sighed. Her voice on her home answering machine was just ending and she had fully intended on leaving a message, but after hearing her husband's peace, she decided not to. He was right, there was no reason to check up on them. She didn't want to to turn into one of those worry wart parents who never trusted their kid when she was alone with a big responsibility, which in this case was her older kid watching her baby. All the more reason not to call, Lorelai decided. And with a convincing nod, Lorelai flipped her cell closed just before the beep came through.

"Good girl," Luke called, his voice deep as he spoke with still closed eyes.

Lorelai grinned. "That's not what you called me last night," she teased as she moved to claim back her spot.

Luke's lip twitched back to a smile as he felt the bed shift. He tossed away the pillow he was holding over his shoulder and hooked his arm over Lorelai's hip to pull her body close. Lorelai smiled, her grin disappearing in Luke's chest as she threw her arm over Luke's stomach. Luke took in a content breath as he looked down to watch his wife petting his stomach; his own movements on the curve of her flannel clad hip matching the strokes of Lorelai's smooth, soft hand.

"This is nice," she mumbled against Luke's chest.

He nodded as he lifted his right arm to brush her hair from her face.

Lorelai peaked a blue eye up at her hubby as she flashed him a smile. "You're a good cuddlier. Who woulda thought Luke Danes would be a good cuddlier," she said.

"I like holding you," Luke admitted gruffly while avoiding her gaze, "so sue me."

Lorelai's smile widened as she turned to bury her head back in Luke's warm, firm chest. "I like holding you too, babe," she said before pressing a kiss over his flat nipple.

"Lorelai," he warned.

"Yes?" She looked up at him innocently while brushing her hand over the spot.

"We have to be home soon," he reminded her, although his hand betrayed his mind as his palm rounded the curve of her ass.

"I know," she nodded while leaning over a bit to kiss the other sensitive nipple.

Luke took in a shaky breath to his nerves reacting to Lorelai's touch and lips.

"There we go," she smiled with accomplishment as she lifted her head to inspect her work. "Now you're both wet, happy?"

"Don't talk to them," Luke groaned, trying to reach for the blanket to cover his chest, but Lorelai's hands stopped him.

"Don't say them, they have names you know," Lorelai frowned as she propped up on his chest a bit. "Just ignore him guys, he's still a little tired," she cooed as her warm hand went over Luke's body, brushing an invisible line across his chest, her fingers stopping on each sensitive bud to tweak his nipples a bit.

"So last night," Lorelai started, a grin on her face as her hands traveled south, dipping in and out of the waist band of his boxers.

"Fun night," Luke commented

Lorelai nodded. "Haven't had a fun night like that in a while," Lorelai added as Luke's eyes were busy watching Lorelai's hands getting closer and closer to his cock. He dipped his hand under the flannel on her body and gave her bare ass cheek a little squeeze of encouragement.

"I missed you," Lorelai admitted, looking away from his hard body to find his eyes.

"I always miss you, Lorelai," Luke told her, not trying to mask his voice with any gruffness, which was rare and Lorelai knew that. Lorelai knew it was hard for Luke to put his feelings into words and she knew she was lucky. She was the only one to be let in like that and moments like this were only shared between them. "Just hearing your voice I need you. I always need you," Luke sighed as his hand traveled over the gentle curve of her hip and to her tummy. His thumb swayed back and forth over her belly button.

Lorelai smiled at his words and sighed at his touch, letting her eyes close for a minute so she could bask in those wonderful hands God gave him.

"I always need you too, Luke," she matched his sentiment a moment later as she slowly opened her eyes, every word true to her feelings. "I'm sorry that its been so long," she apologized, although early on the decision really was Luke, but either way, it got to a certain point in her pregnancy where they wouldn't have been able to anyway.

"No," Luke shook his head. "Not just that, not just- sex."

Lorelai couldn't help but giggle; he could never say the s word without stumbling.

"Just being with you," Luke moved on, wanting to get his point across. "Just holding you... loving you..." He trailed. "That's what I really missed. Just having this time, away from everything. Not having to worry about anything else," Luke explained.

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded. "Me too," she smiled. "We really need this. I think this is why so many couples divorce. They don't always get this time, but no matter what, we need to make time. We always need to make Lorelai and Luke time. Deal?"

"Deal," Luke nodded.

_Danes Home..._

"We're back! Thank you guys so much for – and I'm talking to an empty room," Lorelai frowned, her brows furrowing when she found herself standing in an empty living room. "Rory! April!"

"Shh, they might be sleeping," Luke cautioned as he closed the door behind them.

"But its after elven," Lorelai argued, her voice fading as she walked down the hall to check the kitchen.

"Maybe they went out," Luke shrugged.

"Rory's car is still here," Lorelai called back, her frown furthering when she found the kitchen and dinning room to be empty. She stopped to peak through the glass sliding door, wondering if they took Aaden outside, but neither her baby or daughters were anywhere in site.

"They ran away!" Lorelai exclaimed as she came back down the hall. "They packed everything up and took off in the middle of the night! That's why they wanted to babysit! Getting us out of the house for the night was the only way for their plan to work!"

Luke rolled his eyes, smirking at his wife's antics as he headed for the stairs.

"Hey, wait up," Lorelai stopped him as she hurried after him.

Luke slowed down a bit, but kept a slow pace until he felt Lorelai's hand in his.

Together they walked down the hall, keeping their voices hushed as they approached the nursery.

Lorelai's heart melted at the site of Rory and April conked out on the floor, about a thousand toys around their sleeping bodies.

"I really need to start carrying a camera with me everywhere I go," Lorelai whispered to Luke as the two watched the scene in front of them.

Luke smiled, parting his hand from Lorelai as he carefully started to move through the room, being cautious not to step on anyone or anything on his path towards the crib. "I can't believe this."

"What?" Lorelai asked, quickly moving away from the door frame to peak into the crib. "Well look whose bright eyed and bushy tailed," she cooed at her little boy who was laying wide awake in his crib, his curious blue eyes focused on the teddy bear mobile above him.

"They're asleep and he's awake... shouldn't it be the other way around?" Luke asked.

"Did you wear your sisters out little man," Lorelai grinned at her son as she put her hand on his weensy covered tummy and rocked his cute little body back and forth a bit. Aaden kicked his legs out in excitement and waved his hands around, trying to touch his mommy's face. "Maybe we should take him out for a while, let the girls get some sleep," Lorelai suggested.

Luke nodded. "You leave a note, I'll get him in the car."

"No; no car. We can take him for a walk."

"It's February, Lorelai," Luke tried to reason.

"So? There's no snow outside and it isn't too cold out today, no wind," she listed. "We'll just bundle him up real good and go for a little walk around town. I used to do it all the time with Rory."

Luke sighed, looking down at his one month old. "Okay, but if he gets sick-"

"- he won't," Lorelai interrupted, her voice firm. "He's strong, just like his daddy, aren't you little boy," Lorelai smiled a she gently lifted Aaden from the mattress and pulled the baby close to her chest. She cradled his head close to her neck and kissed his dark hair before handing him off to his daddy. "Meet you boys downstairs," she promised as they left.

Lorelai plucked the throw that was kept on the rocking chair and carefully spread it over the tired babysitters before going to her room to write a quick note of where her and Luke would be and leaving the paper between the two teens so they would see it when they woke up. She pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads, then hurried after her husband.

_Town..._

"Not even three blocks and he falls asleep," Lorelai pouted as the trio walked through Stars Hollow.

Luke grinned as he walked next to the stroller. "I told you he would," the proud daddy smiled down at his son; only the little boy's cute face visible under all the layers of clothes and blankets.

"Yeah, yeah," Lorelai grumbled as they rounded the corner and found themselves approaching the lake.

"Wake up baby, you're missing your first visit to the water," Lorelai tried enticing her sleeping boy to open up those bright, beautiful, blue eyes of his and take in the world around him.

"Don't wake him up," Luke frowned, pulling the stroller to take Aaden away from his crazy mom.

Lorelai sighed while turning her head to look at the frozen lake; the ice due to the change in season.

"So what do you think?" She asked while trailing after her boys who found a spot under a tree. Luke was just plopping down in front of it when she caught up with him.

"About what?" Luke asked as he arranged the stroller so Aaden was facing the far away winter sun.

"About the lake," Lorelai jerked her chin to the frozen pool of water as she planted her hands on Luke's thighs, using the leverage to ease herself down between his legs. Luke's arms immediately wound around her waist to pull her body close to his. "Do you think you'll teach them how to swim here or a the cabin?" She finished, letting her head fall against his chest.

Luke shrugged. "Probably easier to do it here," Luke reasoned. "I'd be able to take him everyday. That's not something I could do with the cabin."

"True," Lorelai nodded as she craned her head to look at his face. "But maybe that first jump should be at the cabin," she said, knowing that was how his father taught him when he was a kid.

"Yeah," Luke smiled before pressing a kiss to Lorelai's forehead. "It should."

After spending about ten minutes at the lake, the happy couple decided to leave and head back for home, not wanting to keep Aaden out in the chilly weather for too long.

Just as they found themselves coming to the square, a ringing cell phone slowed their pace.

"Hello," Lorelai answered.

"So you just take the baby and run, huh?" Rory asked. "Trying to skip out on paying the babysitters?"

Lorelai smiled. "Well your rates aren't so cheap, so we fled like any good, honorable parents would. And let me tell you, our get away plan has been going great, only twenty minutes and we're already halfway to Mexico. Traffic's just been amazing," she grinned.

"Mexico, wow," Rory awed, playing along with her mom's antics. "You can finally get Luke to take up Mexican hat dancing! Oh! Oh! You guys could start a family thing like the Brady Bunch!"

"Oh, that'd be quite an episode, wouldn't it," Lorelai smirked. "The Brady Bunch goes to Mexico to display their hat dancing skills; I'd pay anything to see that."

"Well it is about time they got back together for a reunion special; you should suggest that," Rory grinned.

"I will," Lorelai nodded, smiling.

"How you go from Mexico to the Brady Bunch; I'll never understand," Luke mumbled. as he took control of the stroller so Lorelai could focusing on talking.

"So how was he?" Lorelai asked.

"He spit up on Noah!" Rory exclaimed.

Lorelai's brows furrowed. "What?"

"Oh right, I didn't tell you!" Rory realized as she nodded to April who was mouthing a question." I forgot that I said I would help Noah with his first article because he's never written for the religion beat before and I promised that I would meet him at Yale and show him some of my old articles and everything but since I was here, I invited him over," Rory explained. "That was okay, right? Should I have cleared that with you? It is your house, but I just figured that-"

"- No, no, it was okay," Lorelai assured her daughter. "So how's Jess; he coming home soon?" She asked, wanting to know if she told her boyfriend about her guest. Lorelai knew Jess had some jealouy issues over Noah. After the couple fought about it, Rory had left a message, wanting her mom to call her and Lorelai was filled in on what Jess said when he walked into a friend's dorm room; a friend of Rory's, and found the two seemingly buddy buddy on the couch.

"Jess is good. I talked to him yesterday morning and they're still brain storming, so we'll see. He may end up being there longer than planned."

"Oh," Lorelai nodded. "Well you thinking about visiting him maybe?" Lorelai asked, hopeful.

"No," Rory shook her head., "I don't think so. Things are really crazy with school right now."

"Right, yeah," Lorelai nodded. "So other than the spitting up fiasco, how'd it go?"

"Good. And Aaden must like me better because he went to sleep early and only woke up twice," Rory gloated.

"Wow," Lorelai awed. "Well, he has been better lately with sleeping, so that's good," she nodded. "I'm gonna go, I'll see ya later, kay babe?"

"Okay- oh and details, I want details," Rory stressed. "PG rated of course, but details," she smiled.

Lorelai nodded. "Later, I promise."

After hanging up with her daughter, Lorelai and Luke went their separate ways for the day; Lorelai heading for home while Luke went to the diner.

Just before she reached her house, Lorelai got a call from a very frantic Michel, the man demanding that she come to the Inn right away.

"Hey, you're back," Rory smiled when she saw her mom come through the door.

"No actually," Lorelai shook her head. "I'm just stopping by to see if my favorite daughter could watch her little brother while I run over to the Inn real fast," Lorelai smiled.

"You know, if you and Luke ever have a girl, you won't be able to say that anymore."

"Yes, but right now I only have one girl, so I can," Lorelai grinned.

Rory sighed, but her smile betrayed her. "Go," she urged. "Something happen?"

"I don't know," Lorelai shrugged. "but Michel's freaking out and Sookie isn't in yet to calm him down so guess I'm heading back to work earlier than planned," she smiled tiredly.

_Diner..._

"Hey Luke," Liz greeted her brother with a smile while walking in with a filled car seat in her hand.

"Hey," Luke smiled back while coming around the counter. Just as Liz got the seat firm in place, she started begging for help.

"Come on Luke, pleeaassee. Just for an hour. I just need _one_ hour," Liz stressed. "T.J's driving me crazy and when he isn't, she's attached to my boob and I just need one hour to myself, that's all," she promised.

Luke sighed. Although he knew that he and Lorelai needed similar time too, the time they managed to get just last night. And he could see that his sister was tired and worn out.

"Fine," he gave in. "But anything longer than an hour and I'm calling Kirk to babysit," Luke warned. He had a business to run, he couldn't just watch her kid all day.

"Deal," Liz nodded before turning on her heel and leaving faster than anyone could notice.

_Dragonfly Inn..._

Lorelai sighed as she closed the door of her jeep. Michel was a drama queen, that was a fact that she knew very well. The man had a history of freaking out over everything, even the simplest, silliest, smallest things. God only knew what he was panicking about this time, Lorelai thought as she head for the Inn.

"Lorelai! Lorelai!"

She turned, her brows knitting when she found an almost running Michel coming towards her.

"Michel!" Lorelai gasped, her eyes widening at the manager who suddenly came to abrupt stop right in front of her and immediately bent at the knees, his body leaning forward as his lungs worked to catch his breath. "You're wearing your fancy Italian shoes, why are you running?" She asked, stunned at what she had just witnessed.

"You have to... come," Michel huffed, having just about sprinted to the parking lot. "The stables... Desdemona.."

Lorelai's face fell. "What about Desdemona?" She asked carefully.

"Come," Michel urged. "Hurry."

_The Diner..._

After about only fifteen minutes since his cranky niece was dropped off to him, Luke was thinking that a change in scenery might do them both some good.

"Hey Brett," Luke called into the kitchen.

"Yeah boss?" The newcomer, who was recently hired on a trial basis, asked.

Really, Luke was planning only to keep the kid until Lane and Zach were back. Two people who Luke assumed would be returning before Cesar would. The chef was still with his sick mother and Luke wanted to give the guy some time away to be with his mom. He knew what it was like to not only lose a parent, but two parents, and at a very young age, so he wanted to give the guy a change to be with his sick mother. While he still could.

He had hired Brett just days ago. The eighteen year old being enrolled in a near by culinary school and commuting back and forth daily, so he was looking for a hometown part time job where he could pick up some hours here and there, particularly during the weekends. So here he was.

"I'm heading out. Things are pretty slow out here, you should be okay for a while. I won't be out for more than an hour," Luke promised, casting a quick glance at the clock and noting that the crowed should really pick up for the lunch rush just when he was planning on getting back.

"Go, I can handle it," Brett urged, waving at his boss from the kitchen where he was whipping up a ham and cheese sandwich for of course, Kirk, who may as well pack his bags and get a set of keys from Luke; the guy was at the diner so much.

"Call if things get crazy," Luke cautioned to the kid, not wanting him to think that he couldn't ask for help if he needed it.

Brett just gave his boss a reassuring smile and urged the man to go, telling him that everything would be fine.

_Town..._

After calling home and getting April, who relayed to him that Lorelai had just ran over to the Inn, Luke decided to take his walk to the Dragonfly. He knew that motion usually soothed his own baby and so with that in mind, he decided to try the tactic with his niece, hoping it would calm the stubborn little girl.

Luke's eyebrows cocked with confusion when he found himself in the middle of an empty lobby. Not that he so much expected to find Lorelai at the front desk- he figured she was in her office and if not there, was either walking around the Inn, or in the kitchen talking to Sookie- but he did expect to at least find Michel behind the reception desk- not that the stubborn, lazy manager would actually being doing work, but...

"Lorelai?" Luke called curiously as he headed for the kitchen, figuring that that room was his safest bet.

"In here!" She exclaimed. And Luke could hear the smile in her voice.

"Hey," Luke greeted curiously after opening the door to find Lorelai and Sookie talking by the counter.

"Guess what?!" Sookie exclaimed.

Luke looked to his wife, his gaze questioning.

"Desdemona's pregnant!" Lorelai giggled.

"The horse?" Luke asked while moving the stroller back and forth a bit to keep Duola calm.

"No, the other Desdemona, because I know so many Desdemonas," she rolled her eyes. "Are you kidnapping babies again?" She asked, smiling while looking down at her niece.

Luke sighed. "Liz came into the diner a little while ago. She needed a break, and kept begging until I said yes so I thought I'd take her for a walk, trying and calm her down."

"And you stopped here to see your wife," Lorelai gushed, the biggest smile on her face.

Luke nodded. "We just wanted to say hi, I have to get back."

"Okay," Lorelai nodded. "I'll go with you," she smiled while sliding from her stool. "I'll see ya later tonight Sook," Lorelai promised her best friend. Not having seen each other for days, Sookie invited the Danes over for dinner tonight.

"Okay," the woman nodded. "Have fun," She smiled at her friend before turning back to her kitchen staff.

"We're seeing Sookie later?" Luke asked as they walked past the lobby.

Lorelai nodded. "I know you're working, but she invited us over for dinner. I thought I'd take Aaden."

Luke nodded, glad that his wife would have time with her friend.

"Rory's gonna head back to Yale so I'd thought I'd take April back home before Sookie's."

Luke shook his head. "No, you don't have to take her. I can drive her later, after I close up."

"No, its okay," Lorelai insisted. "So how she's been?" Lorelai asked, looking down at Duola.

"Cranky."

Lorelai grinned. "Like uncle, like niece, huh?"

_... to be continued..._

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	13. The not so Wicked Nanny of Hartford

**Chapter Thirteen**

_Monday… Danes Home_

"You can't go!" Lorelai stressed for the millionth time that morning.

Luke grinned as he propped his foot up on a stool to tie his laces together. "You'll be fine," he said dully, giving her a quick look before he turned to Aaden who was lying in his car seat; a bottle coming from his mouth. "Be careful buddy, you're grandmother's a tight ass."

Lorelai gasped. "Luke! Language!" She scolded her husband.

Luke shrugged. "Nothing else came to mind," he reasoned with a smirk as he gave his laces a final tug than stood up while patting his jean pockets to make sure that he had everything.

"Well, tender ears," Lorelai said while gesturing towards the snoozy baby whose eyes kept fluttering open and closed as his lazy lips moved around the nipple to drink his milk. "And your daddy's right, so be careful little man," she cautioned her son.

"Have fun," Luke smiled before kissing Lorelai's cheek and then bending to smooth his hand over Aaden's hair. "Be good, pal," Luke warned his son gently before he left a goodbye kiss on the baby's forehead. The boy's curious young eyes followed his daddy and he couldn't help but scrunch his eyebrows in wonder as he watched Luke lean closer to him. He reached his little hand out and tried to grab his daddy's nose but Luke caught his wrist before he could. "Nice try," Luke smiled and he held his mouth that way for a moment before he turned to leave.

"No! Wait!" Lorelai begged, her arm darting out to grab Luke's wrist to stop him.

Luke sighed, but he couldn't help the smile from his lips.

"You can't leave me here alone with Emily Gilmore; me, your wife, your friend, your lover, the mother of your child," Lorelai went on, saving her best weapon for last as she looked down at their innocent baby.

Luke rolled his eyes. "You're leaving soon anyway, I can think you can tough it out," he said with fake enthusiasm.

"I carried him for nine months and have the scar to prove the very painful recovery that I endured to get him here!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Nope, not gonna work," Luke shook his head as he tried to get his arm back, but his wife's grip just tightened further. "Lorelai," he laughed, "Lane isn't back yet, I have to go," he explained to her gently but still with an amused smile on his face.

Lorelai's lips fell further, her pout begging for him to cave in and Luke knew he would to; if he didn't get outta there fast. He released a long breath, trying very hard not to give into her baby blue eyes as he took his arm back and gently cupped her face in his hands. "If you end up killing each other, try and keep Aaden outta the line of fire, okay?" He requested. "Bye," he grinned before quickly turning and running down the hall before she could say a word.

_Town square…_

Luke could hear the sirens as his old Chevy made its way up the street. His brows knit in confusion and he sped up; quickly reaching over the speed limit when he was able to see that there was a crowd around his Diner.

When he got as close as he could to the chaos, Luke quickly parked his truck and hurried to find out what had happened. He weaved his way through the crowd; zig-zagging between people to get to the front of the group. His jaw dropped when he saw a car sitting in the middle of his Diner.

_Yale…_

"Comedy at the little theatre tomorrow night," a girl advertised while passing Rory and handing her a flyer as she went.

Rory gave a smile back and took the piece of paper to tuck it away in her bag as she walked through the newsroom.

"Hey boss," Noah grinned as he looked up from his desk to nod at the flyer in Rory's hand. It was the same one he had gotten just minutes ago. "These shows any good or am I better off sitting at home watching reruns of Miss Swan?"

"Miss Swan," Rory smirked, "but what better way to spend five dollars then to contribute to your school and get a few laughs in the process," Rory shrugged as she put her back pack down on her desk, then pulled out her chair to sit.

"You going?" Noah asked as he leaned over her desk.

"I don't know," Rory sighed as she pulled her work from her bag.

"Done! Done! I'm done!" An overly eager Alice announced as she danced through the room and came to a smiling hop in front of Rory's desk.

"Thanks, Alice," Rory smiled while looking over at Ed as she held up the paper for him to take and store it away for the next issue.

"Let me know if you go," Noah said, trying to get Rory's attention back, "maybe I'll tag along," he smiled before turning to his desk.

Rory was about to answer, but her ringing cell phone stopped her.

_Diner…_

"What the hell happened?!" Luke demanded as he approached Coop.

"Kirk," was all the officer had to say.

Luke took in a long, calming breath as he mentally counted to ten.

"Poor doll crashed right through the winda!" Babette exclaimed as she approached Luke with a hand over her heart.

"I'm okay!" Kirk shouted from the back of an ambulance where he was getting plastered up.

_Danes Home…_

The door bell rang not ten minutes after Luke left.

"The wicked nanny of Hartford is here," Lorelai warned her son in an urgent whisper as she stood up from the floor to answer the door. She took in a deep breath before she held her arm out to get a grip on the door knob and in that moment she plastered an exited smile to her face just before swinging the door open.

"Hey mom," she greeted Emily.

"Hello, Lorelai," the older Gilmore smiled.

"Come in," Loerlai said while gesturing to the living room as she held the door open a little wider.

Emily nodded, giving her daughter a thank you nod as she walked past her.

"Say hi to grandma, baby," Lorelai cooed to her son who was lying on the floor, over a blanket.

At the sound of his mommy's voice, Aaden's eyes scattered around the room trying to find his mom and when he couldn't turn his head enough to look at her, frustrated tears sprung in his eyes.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong," Lorelai frowned as she quickly kneeled to the floor.

Emily's curious and hurt eyes watched as Lorelai scoped up the baby and brought him close to her chest. That calmed Aaden down right away. His crying subsided as he took comfort in the warmth of his mother's body and his face nuzzled the skin of her exposed chest, just above her shirt. Lorelai's brows furrowed as she rubbed her baby's back in a soothing motion; her mind trying to figure out if he was crying simply because he wanted her, or if it had anything to do with Emily. Lorelai also thought it may be because he was tired but she also knew that he wouldn't have just stopped crying like that if he was.

"What's wrong with him?" Emily asked.

"I think he's just tired." Lorelai reasoned to her mother who seemed to look a little offended.

"Oh," Emily murmured as she leaned further back against the couch.

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded, "I think I'll just try and put him down," she said as she stood with her baby clamped to her chest.

"Alright," Emily said quietly as she clutched her purse to her lap, looking a little out of sorts.

"I shouldn't be long," Lorelai promised, though really she didn't know if Aaden would sleep. It was hours before his usual nap time, but he did seem more tired than usual during breakfast so she was hoping he would fall asleep, "feel free to get some food or watch TV or something."

Emily nodded mutely and Lorelai gave her mother a smile before she turned for the stairs. Just as her foot touched the first step, her body stopped and she turned around abruptly.

"Why don't you put him down?" Lorelai suggested.

"What?" Emily asked, confused.

"Why don't you try and put him down for his nap," Lorelai clarified, "I mean you came here to spend time with him, right? I'm sure he'd like it if his grandma rocked him to sleep."

"Well alright," Emily blinked. She stood up slowly, carefully pushing her purse against the back cushion of the couch before walking towards her daughter.

"It's nap time, kay baby?" Lorelai whispered to her little boy as she carefully handed him off to his grandma. Emily secured her arms around Aaden and held him just tight enough to her chest. Aaden squirmed a bit at first; his face nuzzling back and forth against Emily, trying to get comfortable again and Lorelai held her breath, hoping he wouldn't cry and after a moment, he realized that his grandma wasn't all that different from his mom. He buried his face in her chest and took solace in the body heat. Lorelai's lips curled back into a smile and she released a thankful breath.

"Oh, I forgot to take my necklaces off," Emily frowned while looking down and watching as her grandson's curious fingers tried to get a grip around the gold objects.

"I can do it," Lorelai offered as she quickly went to stand behind her mother and undo the few necklaces that hung from Emily's neck. "Oh wait," Lorelai said, quickly bending to the floor to pick up a pacifier from the coffee table, knowing that taking away the necklaces would upset her son; she wanted to give something that would distract him.

Emily took the pacifier from her daughter's hand and slowly rubbed the nipple across Aaden's bottom lip. Lorelai took the opportunity to quickly undo the necklaces and pull them away, hiding them behind her back before Aaden could notice that they were gone.

"Thank you," Emily smiled, her attention focused on her grandson whose fingers were tracing around the pacifier as his mouth sucked on the nipple.

"You're welcome," Lorelai nodded.

There was a moment of silence. The eyes of both women glued to the little baby in Emily's arms.

"Well I guess I'll take him up now," Emily said.

"Okay," Lorelai nodded. "I guess I'll head to the Inn than."

"Alright," Emily nodded as she turned to leave.

"Just call if he gets to be too much," Lorelai cautioned.

Emily nodded; the little amount of attention she had on Lorelai gone as she carried her grandson upstairs.

Lorelai shook her head in wonder, sighing as she went to get grab her keys and jacket.

_The Diner…_

"Luke!" A voice yelled. "Luke!"

"Because this day hasn't been bad enough…" Luke shook his head as he turned to find his brother in law running towards him.

"I just heard what happened!" T.J exclaimed as he got closer to Luke. "I brought my tool belt!" He said while holding up the belt as evidence.

"Sorry big brother, I couldn't stop him," Liz apologized, lagging behind her husband with Duola in her arms.

Luke hung his head as he bent his knees to sit on the sidewalk.

_The Dragonfly Inn.._

"Lucy! I'm home!" Lorelai grinned from the lobby.

"Don't call me Lucy," Michel grumbled as he turned to round the counter and get as far away from Lorelai as possible.

"Lorelai!" Sookie shouted as she bolted from the kitchen. "You're back!"

"I'm back!" Lorelai smiled as she hugged her best friend.

"For good?"

"For good," Lorelai confirmed.

"Yay!" Sooke cheered as she started to jump up and down and Lorelai was quick to join in. "But how come you're not at the diner?"

"Luke made some at home, I just took it with me," Lorelai said while holding up her thermos full of coffee.

"But what just happened; shouldn't you be there with Luke," Sookie frowned.

"What?" Lorelai asked, her brows furrowing. "Why?What happened?"

_Yale…_

"Hey Rory, what do you think sounds better, this one or this one?" Danny asked while holding up two pieces of papers and pointing to a paragraph on each.

Rory took them, grabbing her pen as she did and setting them on her desk to compare.

"Hey," a voice called from the doorway.

Rory looked up and her body jumped from the chair when she saw Jess leaning against the door frame.

"You're back!" She exclaimed as she held her arms out to hug him.

Noah looked up from his desk at the noise and his face fell when he saw Rory jump into Jess's arms.

"You're back," she whispered in aw that he was there.

Jess nodded as he showed her the single rose that he was hiding behind his back.

"Pretty," Rory smiled, taking the flower and holding it to her nose. "Thank you," she grinned.

Jess nodded as he leaned to kiss her.

Noah's jaw dropped at the site.

_The Diner…_

Lorelai didn't bother trying to get close to the diner, she left her car two blocks away, knowing she wouldn't get close enough and jogged down the block to get to the mess.

"Hey Lorelai," T.J grinned from the diner's window where he was, 'examining,' the damage.

"Hey T.J," Lorelai said absentmindedly as she continued walking to find Luke.

"Hey," her voice jostled the poor diner owner and he looked up from the street to see his wife standing in front of him. Lorelai's face fell further at the site of his lost expression and she quickly got down to sit next to him. She wrapped her arm around his back and swayed her hand back and forth across his flannel covered back.

"What happened?" Lorelai asked gently after a moment of silence.

"Kirk," he grumbled.

"Of course," Lorelai sighed.

"Taylor said he was testing out the new cameras or something and lost control of the car," Liz explained as she bounced Duola a bit to keep her calm.

"Damn Taylor," Luke complained as he held his forehead in his palm.

"Luke," T.J started as he tightened the tool belt around his jeans. "I looked at the window very thoroughly," he announced like a businessman, "and it's broken. You need new glass," he gave his prognosis.

"Thank you, T.J," Lorelai said quickly. She could feel Luke's body tensing and knew he was about to blow at the poor, innocent, usually-ten- steps-behind-everyone-else, guy who really was just trying to help.

"No problem," he said, giving Lorelai a nod before he turned and went back to the Diner; this time heading inside to most likely see what he could find there.

_Later… Yale..._

It was the end of the day and most of the newspaper staff was packing up to go. Noah and Rory were the only ones left. He could have left a while ago, but he was waiting for Jess to leave before he could ask Rory something that had been bothering him all day.

"So where was he?"

"Where was who?" Rory asked as she packed up her stuff.

"Jess."

"Oh, he was away at work. He helps run this book store in Philly."

"Philly, wow," Noah awed at the distance.

"Yeah," Rory smiled with pride.

"… So you're still with him than."

"Yeah," Rory nodded, "why?"

"No reason," Noah shook his head quickly, "I'll see ya tomorrow, boss," he sighed.

_Danes Home…_

It was just after three and both Luke and Lorelai walked through the door together. Lorelai had spend some time at the diner with her husband, talking to Tom and getting some answers. And then Luke, along with Tom and his workers, were able to get to work right away so Lorelai left for the Inn. She got some work done there and then went back to the diner so see how far they had gotten. Most of the inside was cleaned up and everything, just the outer frame of the diner and the window needed fixing. Of course new tables and things would need to be bought because some were ruined, but that could be done easily.

And now there work day was over and they were hoping they would come home and find that everything went okay.

"Mom?" Lorelai called as she walked through the front door.

Both parents walked through the house, heading for the kitchen to try and find Emily. Luke noticed that the sliding door to the back yard was open.

"Well, look at that," Lorelai awed when she saw Emily sitting down on the porch swing and Aaden lying in his stroller in front of her. Emily had a book in her hands and appeared to be reading to her grandson. "Guess she's not so wicked, huh?"

"Guess so," Luke nodded.

… to be continued…

Please, please, **REVIEW!** Thank you!


	14. Snow Brings Back Memories

**Chapter Fourteen: **

_(Late February)_

_Danes home…_

Her body knew what was happening even before her eyes were open to see it. There was snow outside, lots and lots of snow. There was a thick, beautiful, powdery white blanket of snow covering the town of Stars Hollow. The incredible nose that she had- one of the many gifts that God gave her when she was born; he felt it was only right since she was a snow flake in another life, or so Lorelai thought- could smell the snow from a mile away. She always knew when it was coming and last night, before she went to sleep, she told Luke that snow was on its way. He mumbled and grumbled, saying she was crazy, but deep down he knew that snow was coming. Lorelai was never wrong about this and as insane as it may sound, her nose was special; that was one thing Luke was willing to admit- well admit to himself.

Lorelai's nose started sniffing the air as her body started to wake. The air was cold and crisp, just how she liked it. Summer was always too hot and you could only take off so many clothes, but winter just had too many cute clothes to offer and there was just a vibe that came with the season. Everything felt fresh and welcoming and those days when it would snow would just make everything that much better.

With a content sigh and a smile spread over Lorelai's face, her bright blue eyes opened to the world. She sat up slowly, her arms and legs stretching as she did. Then she scooted to the edge of the bed, slipped into her favorite fluffy slippers and made her way over to the balcony.

"Come on Paul Anka, come see the snow," Lorelai smiled at her dog, patting her leg for him to follow her. The shaggy dog quickly hopped off the bed and was eager to join his mommy. "You ready?" She asked while looking down at her furry friend. His tale was wagging a mile a minute as his eyes were glued to that door. Lorelai reached to grip the handles and she swung the doors open fast. And though this was the third or fourth time she's seen it, still, she couldn't believe the site. It was beautiful. This was her first winter at this house and with all the land they had in their back yard, it was just amazing to see the snow cover it all. Just the thought of being able to one day take Aaden outside and let him play got her so excited. There would be so much room for him to make snow men and snow angles and built forts- everything that she wanted to do as kid but hardly ever got the chance because her parents wouldn't let her. She made sure it was different for Rory and she knew it would be even better for Aaden. He would love it.

"Hey," Luke called from behind. "Can't you at least put a sweater on, its freezing," he said as he quickly made his way to the balcony, grabbing her hoodie from the knob of the closet and holding it open as he approached her.

"Thanks babe," Lorelai smiled at her husband as he wrapped the sweater around her shoulders.

"Turn," he said, motioning for her to face him.

With a grin, Lorelai spun around and Luke quickly zipped her up nice and tight.

"Your mother called," he started as she turned around and leaned back against his chest, "she said the roads are closed and she can't make it over today," he said while wrapping is arms around her tummy and holding her body close.

"Okay," Lorelai nodded as she watched the steady fall of the snow. "I figured she wouldn't. I don't think I'll be able to get to the Inn either, not until they plow the streets," she said.

Luke shook his head. "The snow's just gonna get worse, I don't want you driving in this. I called the Inn; your night manager said she'd cover for most of the day, until Michel can come in. She was looking for some over time anyway."

"I doubt Michel will show at all, she'll be getting a lot of over time," Lorelai smiled.

"You're not driving," he said firmly.

"If I can't leave, you can't leave," Lorelai argued.

"I have to, there's no one to run the diner today," Luke sighed as he shimmed his hands under Lorelai's shirt and spread his palms out over her warm skin.

"Cold," Lorelai smiled.

"Oh, sorry," Luke apologized as he went to move his hands.

"No, stay," Lorelai said as she put her hands over his and held them there. "And you said it yourself, the snow's just gonna get worse, hardly anyone will go the diner. Close for the day and stay home and play hooky with me."

"I can't just close for the day."

"Why not? You own the place, remember?" She asked as she tilted her head to the side to look at him. "Please Luke, stay home with me and your son, just for one day," she said, making sure her lips looked nice and pouty and her blue eyes were wide, begging for him to stay.

"Okay," Luke gave in, "I'll stay," he sighed as he buried his face in her neck.

"Thank you," she whispered with a grin on her face. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna call Rory," she said as she gently took his hands from her stomach.

Luke nodded as he looked up. "She's not going to school," he warned her.

"I know," Lorelai smiled. She cupped his face in her hands and gave his scruffy cheek a quick kiss. "Don't move," she said before she left to get the phone.

"Coffee's made!" He called after her, knowing she would go to use the kitchen phone in hopes of finding some.

"You're the best!" She called back, her smile getting bigger as she hurried down the hall. She made a pit stop though at Aaden's bed room first. The door was open a crack, like always, so either her or Luke were able to peak in and not wake the baby. It took a moment for eyes to adjust to the dark room, but when they did she saw that her baby was lying awake in his crib. This happened a lot. He hardly woke up screaming. He would wake up slowly and usually, unless he was hungry- there was no stopping him if he was hungry- usually he would just be kicking around and his little hands would be trying to reach out and touch the teddy bear mobile that was above his head.

"Hey little boy," Lorelai smiled as she walked through the room.

Aaden looked away from the teddy bears and a smile took his face when he saw his mommy coming.

"You wanna come out?" She asked as she held her arms over the crib. "It's snowing outside, you've never seen snow before," she cooed as she wrapped her arms around his little body and lifted him over the railing. "You wanna see the snow, baby?" She asked as she bounced him a bit in her arms. Aaden buried is face in his mommy's chest, seeking the warmth and Lorelai couldn't help but smile. "Let's call Rory, then we'll go see the snow," She promised before dropping a kiss to the dark hair covering his head, and then she turned to finish her journey to the kitchen.

Lorelai walked through the halls quickly, wanting to get to her sweet elixir of life that was waiting for her in the kitchen. When she got there, she hooked her finger through the handle and brought the hot mug to her lips to take a sip. She sighed as the liquid filled her mouth and went down her throat. She could already feel the coffee taking affect with just one sip_. _And satisfied for the moment with just that, she left the coffee on the table and went to pick up the phone from its base.

"_Hello,"_ Rory answered.

"Guess who stopped by last night," Lorelai said in a sing song voice as she rocked Aaden in her arms.

Rory sighed. "_Saw the snow; it looks the same as did last time."_

Lorelai frowned. "Someone's crabby."

"_I'm not crabby, I just have a lot of newspaper stuff to do and I can't get to Yale because I'm stuck here. Classes are cancelled and everything."_

"Can't you do the work from home?" Lorelai asked, knowing Rory had an office set up in her old bed room.

"_Most of it, but the resources are better at school."_

"Oh," Lorelai nodded. "I'm sorry sweets."

"_It's okay,"_ Rory exhaled. "_Might be nice to have a day off, I could catch up on some reading."_

Lorelai smiled. "See, there's the bright spot."

"_Yeah,"_ Rory said with a small smile.

"So listen, if the snow clears up later, you should come over. I got Luke to play hooky with me so we're just gonna hang around for the day."

"_Okay,"_ Rory nodded, "_I will. Bye mom."_

"Bye hon."

Lorelai sighed as she put the phone on the table and looked down at her baby. "You wanna say good morning to daddy and see the snow now?" She asked. The baby's attention though wasn't focused on her; he was too busy trying to get a grip around the string of his mommy's sweater. "One day you'll be to answer me," Lorelai sighed with a smile. "That'll be a scary day," she whispered, knowing how fast the time flies by.

_Bed room…_

"Hey!" Lorelai exclaimed, her eyes brows knit as her accusing eyes were on her husband. "You moved!" She pouted.

Luke grinned. "Just checking the news," he said while jerking his chin towards the television.

"Hate the news," Lorelai grumbled as she walked through the room and held Aaden close to her body as she sat down on the bed, "it's all bad."

"That's why I put it on when you left," Luke said as he flipped the channel. "Hey pal," He smiled at Aaden as he brushed his hand over the baby's hair. "Did your crazy mom wake you up?"

"No, you were already awake, weren't you baby?" Lorelai cooed as she put him down on the bed. "He wants to see the snow; he knew it was coming, right sweetie? You have the gift like mommy."

"Jeez."

"Don't pay attention to daddy, he's just jealous that he can't smell the snow," Lorelai dismissed her husband as she fixed Aaden's pants that rode up his legs while he was asleep.

"Just show him the damn snow so he can eat," Luke grumbled as he turned back to the T.V.

"Soon, I'm gonna have to start charging you a quarter mister," Lorelai warned. "No cursing in front of the baby," she said as she picked him up again and slid from the bed. "Come on daddy; come see the snow with us," Lorelai said, using her best baby voice.

"Already saw it," he said without giving her a glance.

"Please daddy. I wanna see the snow with you," Lorelai continued to beg; "I promise I won't pee on you later if you come with us."

That broke Luke and he couldn't help or hide his smile.

"Fine," he gave in as he tossed the remote beside him and got up to stand by the balcony door with them. Of course, they didn't open the doors, not wanting the cold air to hit Aaden or anything, but they pulled the blinds up so their baby could see the magic that was snow.

"Isn't it pretty, daddy?" Lorelai grinned.

"Enough," Luke smiled as he took one of his favorite spots; standing behind Lorelai and pulling her close to his body.

Lorelai smiled as she looked down to find Aaden's sweet blue eyes watching the snow fall. "You like it, baby?" Aaden waved his arms out in front of his body, wanting to touch the snow. "I was just thinking before that it won't be long before he'll be able to talk back when we say something," Lorelai said.

"He's not even two months," Luke argued gently as he looked down at his little boy.

"I know," Lorelai nodded, "but before you know it, he'll be a year old. That's around the time when Rory started talking. Of course her first word was mama and it scared the crap outta me when she first said it," Lorelai laughed as the memory filled her mind. "I was a maid at the Inn, you know, and whenever Mia could, she would watch Rory for me while I went room to room. Well this one day, Mia was around so I was going to her office to hand Rory off for the day and right when I turned to the leave the room, I hear her little voice say, ' mama no,' it was the cutest thing," Lorelai gushed. Luke smiled as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I had been trying to get her to say mama for weeks and finally she said it, I was just so proud of her. And then I realized she said no too, and I was just so happy that she was learning to talk, but I was sad too, you know? The time just went by so fast and I mean look where we are now. Rory's going to Yale and we have a baby and Luke, before you know it, he'll be all grown up like his big sister," Lorelai said as she looked down at her baby. "It goes by too fast," she said, her tone low as she held the back of Aaden's head in her hand.

Luke nodded. "We'll have the memories though, just like with Rory," he reminded her gently as he looked at Aaden.

"Yeah," Lorelai smiled, "we will."

_Later on, late afternoon…_

It had stopped snowing just an hour or two ago and the plows were busy clearing the streets. Rory had managed to get on the road and though Luke wasn't too happy with her driving in the mess outside, their house was fairly close to the crap shack and the plows had been doing okay with clearing the roads- at least from what Luke was able to see on the news. Lorelai and Rory were sitting in the living room, around the fire with Aaden, who was lying on his toy mat on the floor, while Luke was in the kitchen getting a late lunch ready for everyone. He had the little T.V on and was keeping a close eye on the weather.

"Really?" Lorelai asked after Rory finished telling her story.

"Yeah," the younger woman nodded, "ever since last week, he's been acting weird around me- that is, when he is around me. I hardly see him anymore," she frowned.

"Doesn't Noah work on the paper with you?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "but I don't know, I think he's avoiding me or something because he's never there when I am."

Lorelai's brows furrowed. "Why would he be avoiding you?"

"I don't know," Rory shrugged. "I mean things were fine, and then Jess comes back and he starts acting like this."

Lorelai smiled, suddenly it all clicked. "Have I taught you nothing?"

"What?"

"Babe, he has a thing for you."

Rory snorted. "He does not have a thing for me."

"Didn't you and Jess fight about this?" She asked.

"Yes," Rory admitted. "But that doesn't mean anything; I mean Jess was just being jealous, that doesn't mean that Noah likes me."

"No," Lorelai shook her head, agreeing, "but it could."

Rory sighed. "Can't I just have a guy friend? Why does it have to be like this?"

Lorelai frowned with sympathy for her daughter. "Well it was with Marty."

"Yeah and look how that turned out. I barely talk to him too and he's getting married to some girl he met while he was on vacation. I mean who does that? Who marries someone they hardly know? I don't get it. And he's still in college. He should wait until he graduates. What's the point in getting married now?"

"I don't know, hon," Lorelai shook her head, her face filled with concern as she listened to her daughter go on about Marty.

"Things were fine until I started dating Logan. I never should have done that. I mean the guy's a jerk. He's a spoiled jerk with a trust fund that only thinks about the next stunt and when the next trip to Vegas will be, that's all. I wasted so much time with him and I lost Marty because of him," she said sadly as she looked down at her little brother whose pacifier fell from his mouth. She picked the binky up and gave it back to Aaden. "He was a good friend."

"I know sweets," Lorelai frowned, "but things happen for a reason, right?"

"Yeah," Rory nodded, "I guess."

The conversation ended not a minute later when Luke came in with three plates. Lorelai was excited because he was finally letting her eat on the floor, not that she didn't do that when he wasn't around, but it was nice to be together. When she asked him why he suddenly didn't care about the crumb fest that was sure to happen, he shrugged and told her that today was their day. The mess could always be cleaned up. Lorelai smiled, reached over and gave his lips a quick kiss before she sat back and dug into her sandwich. And like always, both girls were finished way before Luke, because unlike them, he didn't nearly choke trying to swallow his food. He ate a normal pace and consumed a normal amount. Before Lorelai and Rory were even close to clearing their plates, they were both asking with stuffed cheeks, what was for desert? And though it was a little disgusting, Luke couldn't help but smile at his girls.

"How 'bout you wait 'till after dinner for desert," Luke tried, though he knew that wouldn't go over too well.

"Or," Lorelai started before swallowing the food that was in her mouth, "we could have two deserts," she smiled.

"Yeah, two," Rory nodded eagerly.

Luke sighed. "What are the odds of him being on my side when he gets older?" He asked while looking down at Aaden who was playing with a stuffed pooh bear and sucking on a pacifier.

"With us around, not very good," Rory smiled.

"Figured," Luke grumbled as he got up to get them each a piece of pie.

Lorelai smiled, her adoring eyes watching that fabulous butt of his go as he left the room.

"Must you stare in front of me," Rory complained as she scrunched up her face.

"Yes, I must," Lorelai nodded solemnly.

Just as Lorelai was turning back to pick up her sandwich, the phone started ringing.

She picked it up quickly, knowing that Aaden didn't like the ring and pressed the device to her ear.

"Hello… mom, slow down, I can't understand you… we're on our way," she promised.

"What happened?" Rory asked the second her mother hung up the phone.

"My dad's in the hospital."

… To be continued…

Please Please **REVIEW!!**


	15. What She Doesn't Know Yet

**Chapter Fifteen: **

_Danes Home_

Winter came and went in the Hollow, taking the cold weather and cute snow boots with it. Though the memories from the season remained; some good, some great and some just plain old bad.

Aaden came in a flurry of panic and chaos just as the season was gaining strength. It was scary, but everything turned out more than fine. He made his parents very happy and proud of him went he made his grand entrance into the world.

Living up to his reputation, Christopher came and managed to do his usual damage. Just days before the season came to a close, Lorelai made a final decision about him. She had been thinking about her talk with Luke for weeks before that. He told her that it was okay to miss the guy and that he would understand if she wanted to see him again. He wanted her to be happy. Lorelai considered everything and though apart of her thought the idea sounded somewhat appealing, she knew she couldn't do it. She was finally at a place in her life where her heart didn't need him and she knew life would go continue to go on without him. So one day, she called him; told him everything and this time wasn't so nice about it. The man got the message loud and clear and promised to stay away. They would only come in contact if it involved Rory.

Things with Rory and Jess were good, though Lorelai was still a little worried about Noah… and Marty for that matter. She knew her daughter had no feelings for Noah, but she could tell the boy felt something for her daughter. What she was more concerned about was Marty. She vowed though to not meddle in that department and just let the situation play itself out. The younger girl was doing great with school, as always. She seemed to be in a good rhyme with things and that was comforting for Luke and Lorelai.

The Dragonfly and the Diner were doing well, as always. The small drop in capacity that the Inn usually experienced with the sometimes harsh winter weather was quickly turning around. Tourist season was kicking up and the books were being filled with names and keys were being given out every day. People still needed to eat. Luke was confident that would never change. Since the town was very small, the cold hardly kept anyone away and as spring came, things didn't really change for his business, thankfully. Everything was good.

Lorelai and Emily were still doing they're bi monthly therapy sessions. They seemed to be helping. Of course, the two women still got at each other's nerves, but they were handling thigns different and the genius that was Dr. Reese was actually getting through to them. It was a miracle in itself.

Aaden was continuing to amaze his parents every day. The baby was healthy and happy; though he did manage to really shake his parents up one night in March. Thankfully, Luke and Lorelai got him through his first cold without too much panic.

And thankfully everything was okay with Lorelai's father. They had a scare on what came to be the last snow of the season. The man was rushed to the hospital due to a minor heart attack and was since ordered to a very strict diet and many other things that Richard wasn't happy with. He was doing okay though, and that's what was most important.

New routines were started and same ones were continued as finally, a very special day was here; though Lorelai was wishing she could turn back the clock.

"How? How did this happen?" Lorelai pouted.

"He's still a baby," Luke reminded his wife gently as he wrapped his arm around her stomach, "just a little bit older now."

"And bigger!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Three months! He's going in for his three month check up today!" She turned in Luke's arms to look at him with wide, questioning eyes. "How did this happen?" Her voice dropped. "Soon he'll be crawling and then walking and then he won't need us anymore," she sulked.

Luke smiled as he brushed a few soft curls away from Lorelai's face. "I don't think it will happen that fast."

Lorelai sighed as she turned back to watch her sleeping baby. "Yes it will," she said sadly.

Luke brought his lips close to her neck and pressed a gentle kiss to her soft skin. "Come on, let's go get ready while he's still asleep," Luke urged gently before reaching for her hand to lead her from the room.

"But-"

"- he'll still be three months when we come back, don't worry, crazy lady," Luke smirked.

Lorelai sighed as he pulled her along. She turned her head to give her baby one last glance and she couldn't help but frown at him.

_A Bit Later_

"Hey! It's Monday!" Lorelai yelled from her vanity as she forced a brush through her tangled curls.

"And tomorrow's Tuesday!" Luke shouted from the shower where he was just finishing up. Lorelai managed to distract him when he was finally clean, leaving him no choice but to start all over. He kicked her out so he could repeat the process before losing the hot water.

Lorelai rolled her eyes just before wincing. Sometimes she really hated her damn curly hair. "We have dinner with Buddy and Maisy!"

"I know!" Luke's muffled voice answered.

"Is it here or there?!" She asked

"There! We had it here last week!"

"Right," Lorelai murmured, nodding to herself. She liked having it there better. It was nice to be able to get all dressed up, but nothing too fancy like something for dinner with her parents, and go out for a while. She liked being in a place that quickly grew to feel like another home to her and being around Buddy and Maisy was always great. They loved Aaden and it was great for Luke to have that time with them.

"What about my parents!?" She asked a moment later, after the thought occurred to her.

"There!"

Lorelai sighed. Much like the dinners with Buddy and Maisy, Lorelai and Luke had a routine with the Gilmores. They switched off weeks; either eating at the Danes Home or making the trip to Hartford to wine and dine at the Gilmore Mansion. And though things had been pretty good with her parents, she favored hosting those weekly dinners at her house. She felt more in control. It was her place and she and Luke called the shots. It was casual dressing with no penguin suits- much to Luke's liking, not so much Lorelai's. They just liked being in their own home. They were homebodies.

"Can't get it all," she sighed as she focused back on her hair.

_Later…_

The doctor's visit had gone well. Little Aaden Danes was growing just fine, although there was one minor thing. He seemed to be going through the chubby baby phase. His weight was just a little higher than normal, but Dr. Peterson assured them that it was nothing to worry about. He was also a bit longer than some babies in his age range, but it was to be expected with his mother being 5'9 and his father being 6'1. That too was no cause for concern.

The doctor asked the proud parents a few questions, just to get an idea of how Aaden's development was going. Lorelai jumped in, saying that Aaden started laughing recently. She went into a quick anecdote about how she first discovered her baby's talent. She told him about the conversation her and Aaden had and how he kept Ooh-ing and ahh-ing at her. The doctor nodded a smiled as he jotted a few things down on his clipboard while encouraging her to go on. Luke quickly stepped in by saying that the other day, Aaden tried to lift his chest up when he was lying on the floor. Luke explained that he managed to hold himself up for a few seconds. The doctor said that was very good and then asked about the baby's sleeping habits. Lorelai started by saying that two nights ago Aaden slept from ten p.m to six in the morning. She had the biggest smile on her face as she gloated about her baby boy. The doctor laughed and told her by the end of the month, nine or ten hours of sleep will be pretty normal for the boy. Lorelai and Luke nodded and then Dr. Peterson asked if Lorelai was still breast feeding. She said yes, but her face winced before she told the doctor that over the last few days, Aaden has been wanting to feed more often. She said that he's been eating longer and asked if that was anything to worry about. The doctor smiled and told the worried parents that the baby was probably just going through a growth spurt. He said that that probably explained the weight gain and everything was just fine. He would be worried if it wasn't happening. Relief washed over Luke and Lorelai's faces and before going for the day, the doctor was happy to receive a laugh and a smile from the baby.

Lorelai couldn't stop grinning at Aaden as they walked to the car. She told him over and over again how good he did with the doctor and how proud she was of him.

"Come on, get in. He'll get a trophy when we get home," Luke grinned as he opened the door to Lorelai's jeep and nudged his chin toward the car seat.

"Hear that, baby?" Lorelai gasped as she smiled at the boy. "Daddy's getting you a trophy!" She exclaimed as she held the back of Aaden's head. He gave her a small smile as he was busy pushing his hands against Lorelai's chest in an effort to get some distance between his face and his mom's. When he felt his was steady enough, he reached his chubby little hand out to try and grab Lorelai's chin, but the movement failed and he lost his balance. Lorelai couldn't help but laugh when his face fell into her chest. Frustrated with himself, tears sprang in his eyes and he started crying. "It's okay, little guy, you'll get the hang of it," Lorelai cooed as she leaned into the car and carefully transferred his much sturdier body into his car seat.

As they drove through town, the car was filled with the usual chit chatter from Lorelai and the recent babbling that came from the back seat.

"Mmmmm," Aaden hummed after stucking his toy in his mouth and getting drool all over it.

"Taste good?" Luke grinned after glancing in the mirror.

"Oh, look! They're setting up for the spring carnival!" Lorelai exclaimed as they looped around the square and saw many of their neighbors hustling and bustling around the Gazebo.

"It's only Monday, why are they setting up so early?" Luke grumbled as he gripped his hands around the steering wheel just a little tighter.

"Well Taylor's not around, I guess they wanted to get a jump on things. Kirk's probably trying to suck up to Taylor; make sure it goes well so he gets back on his good side. You remember what happened last week. The whole town smelled for days," Lorelai crinkled her noise as she remembered the, oh- so- fragrant odor that managed to travel to every nook and cranny of the town.

"That wasn't Kirk's fault, the train crashed," Luke tried to reason.

"Wow, defending Kirk," Lorelai awed. "Those fumes still getting to ya?" She teased.

"Well, it was the screw ball's idea," Luke reasoned.

"Screw ball? That the best you can do?"

"Soon he's gonna start repeating," Luke said as he jerked his head to the back seat.

"And then daddy won't be able to swear like a sailor, will he?" Lorelai cooed as she looked behind her.

At the sound of his mother's voice, Aaden started waving his arms around and his toy went flying as the boy fell into a fit of giggles.

"Isn't that best sound in the world?" Lorelai looked up at Luke and he quickly glanced down at her. His smile grew after seeing how happy she was.

"Yeah," he agreed, "it is."

Before heading to the diner for the rest of the day, Luke made a quick pit stop at the Dragonfly to drop his wife off. Since it was Monday, it was his turn to take Aaden to work with him. The schedule was that the baby went to work with him Monday through Wednesday and Lorelai took Aaden to the Dragonfly with her on Thursdays and Fridays. Lorelai stayed home Saturday with the baby while Luke worked, though there was the occasional Saturday where they were both home, and then Sunday was family day. Rory often came home on the weekends, but sometimes she could only stop by for the day and that day was usually Sunday; when all four were home and more than not, they just spent the day together inside. It was just a cozy, relaxing day.

"Bye, babe," Lorelai smiled at her hubby as she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "Bye, baby," she grinned as she turned to her little boy. Aaden squealed with delight; his face lighting up as he made gurgling noises. Lorelai blew a raspberry on the baby's chubby cheek and Aaden took the opportunity to grab some of his mommy's hair. "Hey, hey; attached to the head," Lorelai winced as she gently took Aaden's tiny hands from her hair. "Be good for daddy," she warned him gently before running her hand through his soft curls.

"I get a kiss, but he gets this whole big goodbye," Luke grumped from the front seat. "You planning on running away with him or something?"

"Yes," Lorelai smiled brilliantly as she leaned back into her seat to give Luke's scruffy cheek a kiss. "You'll get more later," she whispered her promise. "And then some," she added.

Luke nodded as he watched her leave the car. He waited until she disappeared into the Inn and then he turned to look at Aaden. "She's mine, buddy. I saw her first, so don't get any ideas," he warned his son. The baby flashed his daddy's a gummy smile and Luke grinned. "Fine, we'll share," he gave in, "but tonight, she's mine. So how 'bout falling asleep early, huh? Throw your old man a bone."

_Dragonfly…_

"Hey, Michel," Lorelai smiled brightly as she weaved her way to the front desk. She gave a quick greeting to the few guests who were crowded around the front door, getting to ready to leave, as she passed them.

"Hello," he said duly as he sorted through some papers. "You're daughter called; the sort one," he explained.

"April?" Lorelai asked. No matter how many times she said the name, Michel either couldn't remember, refused to try, or just didn't care to say it.

"Yes, that one," he nodded. "And here; mail," he said as he handed her a small stack of envelopes.

Lorelai took her mail from the man and then jerked her chin at the phone that sat beside him. "Thanks," she said before her fingers went to dialing as she turned to her office.

"_Hello?"_ April answered her cell phone. It was an early birthday gift from her mom.

"Hey, sweets, how's it going?" Lorelai smiled.

"_Lorelai!" _The teenager exclaimed. "_I need a HUGE favor!"_

"A favor?" Lorelai asked carefully. "What kinda favor?" She smiled while dropping her purse onto her desk.

"_Well, last week, I heard you and dad talking about the Spring Carnival and since my birthday is this weekend, I wanted to have my party there."_

"At the carnival?" Lorelai asked.

"_Yeah," _April nodded, "_but I know this isn't my weekend to be with you and dad, so I was hoping you could talk to mom. You know, woman to woman," _she added_. "This is a very important birthday; I'm turning 14! " _She exclaimed_. "I thought maybe you could convince mom into letting me switch the weekends," _she winced, bracing herself for an answer.

"You want me to talk to your mom?" Lorelai's brows furrowed.

"_Yes," _she answered quickly. "_And I know you're not really friends or anything, but I thought since you're a woman, you could make mom understand how important this birthday is to me and how much I really, really, really, wanna have it at the carnival."_

Lorelai winced. "I don't know, hon," she said gently. The last time she talked to Anna, it didn't exactly go too well.

"_Plllleeeaaasseeee," _she begged_. _"_This will get you a present free card. You won't have to buy me anything," _she tried to entice_. _

Lorelai laughed at the girl's propaganda. "Does sound like a fair deal," she said thoughtfully, while grinning.

"_Yes it does," _April agreed."_So is that a yes?" _

Lorelai sighed. "Yes," she smiled, "but you're gonna have to deal with getting a present anyway."

"_I can live with that," _April nodded solemnly_. _

_Square_

"Come on, damn it!" Luke cursed as he rammed the key into the ignition for what had to be the tenth time. "Start, damn it!" He exclaimed.

Just shy of two blocks from the diner, Lorelai's car started making noises. Now Luke was no super car expert, but he knew enough to know that the sound wasn't good. He pulled over and made the mistake of turning the car off. And now he couldn't get it back on.

Luke sighed as he leaned back against the driver's seat. Unfortunately, he knew what was wrong with the car. He went through the same thing about ten years ago with the car he had before the Chevy pick- up. What he didn't know was how he was going to break the news to his wife.

_Dragonfly…_

"Hey, Sookie," Lorelai smiled as she walked through the kitchen.

"Hey, look!" The chef exclaimed as she tilted her masterpiece up for her best friend to see.

"Mmm, cake. Gimme," Lorelai's eyes widened at the site of the big chocolate cake.

"Not until Sunday," Sookie laughed as she pulled the cake back. "I still have to put the icing on it for Martha."

"That's right," Lorelai nodded with realization. "Short stuff's turning two," she grinned.

"Yes she is," Sookie said proudly.

"Luke, Luke 2.0, and I, will be there," she smiled before plopping down on a stool.

"No Rory?" Sookie frowned.

"No. She has something for school on Sunday," Lorelai sighed.

"Oh. We'll you'll see her Friday, right? And Saturday at the carnival?"

"Yeah," Lorelai's face brightened at the thought. She took the coffee mug that Sookie was holding out for her and quickly filled it with her precious brew before taking an appreciative sip. "Gets better every time," she grinned. Sookie smiled.

"Pink or yellow?" The chef asked while holding up two different tubes of icing.

"Pink," Lorelai answered without looking up as she started to sort through her mail. The first couple were just the usual bills and things but the name on the last envelope wasn't something that Lorelai was expecting.

"Mike Armstrong?" She questioned, her brows furrowing.

"What?" Sookie asked as she leaned over to see.

"Got mail from Mike Armstrong," she said absentmindedly as she went to tear open the envelope.

Sookie frowned. "We haven't heard from him since he wanted to buy the Inn."

Lorelai nodded as she quickly pulled out the paper and unfolded it to read. Her eyes quickly sifted through the words and read just enough until she got the gist of it.

"He'll be in town day after tomorrow. There's going to be a convention or something on Thursday, in Boston, and he's coming by here the day before because he has a surprise for me."

"A surprise?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai just shrugged.

"You thinks he wants to buy the Inn?"

"I don't know. Guess we'll have to wait and see."

_Later: Diner_

"Hey, Luke," Gypsy said as she walked into the diner. She was dressed in her work jumpsuit with a rag in her hands, "bad news about Lorelai's car."

Luke sighed a long breath as he stood behind the counter, working a towel into the top to clean it.

"What's wrong with Lorelai's car?" Babette rasped from a table, where she sat feeding Aaden a bottle.

"It's dead," Gypsy said simply

His thoughts were just confirmed. "Great," Luke mumbled.

_Yale_

Rory rushed through the halls. She was already ten minutes late for class because there was an accident on the damn highway and this was the third time this month that it's happened.

She turned the last corner and dashed for her classroom as fast as her legs could take her. Just before she went into the room, she came to a screeching halt. She took in a breath, smoothed out her skirt and opened the door as quietly as she could. Luckily, the professor was facing the board, so she was able to sneak inside and she wouldn't have to deal with him until after class; when she would have to go up to his desk to get her attendance checked. She knew exactly what he would say too. This would be the second time she was late for this class. Two lates means points from her average go bye, bye. That was a conversation she was really looking forward too.

She sat down in the back; in the only seat that was available and quickly pulled her books from her bag. She flipped her assignment book opened quickly read over the bullet points she made. She had a date with Jess tomorrow night. She needed to buy a new sweater. She had a paper due this Thursday. She was almost done. She was running out of white out. She needed to stop by the book store and by a new bottle. She had to find an apartment on, or way closer to campus than where she was now. She needed to break it to her mom that a Gilmore girl wouldn't be living in the crap shack anymore.

to be continued…

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	16. Out with the old, not ready for the New

**Chapter Sixteen: Out with the old, not ready for the New. **

Luke sighed as he braced his hands on his hips. His eyes were full of sympathy and concern as he stood there watching his wife mourn over her loss.

At first, Lorelai thought that her oh-so-funny hubby was playing a cruel, cruel joke on her. She was just coming by the diner for some dinner, like she always did after work, especially when the man had to work late and they wouldn't be able to go out or eat at home together and when she struck up a conversation with him, he had such a serious expression on his face. The man was a bit grumpier than usual and Lorelai did her job, cracking some he-man pms jokes and this and that, but the guy didn't budge. He served her her food, fed Aaden while she ate and then busied himself around the diner while Lorelai rocked their baby boy with worry and curiosity hidden on her face.

Eventually the dinner rush thinned and Aaden began to fuss. Lorelai started to gather her and the boy's things, figuring that the baby was ready for his usual after-dinner-snooze. She tried waiting for Luke so she could say goodbye and get a kiss, but Aaden wasn't having that. He let his impatience be well known by kicking up the volume a few notches. Lorelai relented and headed for the door with a crying Aaden clamped to her chest. Just as her hand reached for the knob, she heard a screech behind her.

"Where ya going?!" Babette's raspy voice called from the back, the woman having just come from the facilities.

"Home," Lorelai smiled. "When Luke comes down, can you tell him I'll see him at home?" She asked as she adjusted the baby to get a better grip.

"Ya walking?" She asked quickly.

Lorelai's brows furrowed at the near panic expression on Babette's face.

"Uh, no, my jeep's right there," Loerlai laughed as she lifted her hand to point out the window.

"But it's such a nice day out, you should walk! That should quiet the little guy, right? He loves the stroller!" Babette exclaimed as she hurried around the counter and grabbed the folded up stroller.

"Hey, hey, wait," Lorelai called as she quickly went to stop her neighbor. "You know I hate exercise unless it's absolutely necessary and even than I'm not fond of it," she smiled.

"Oh come on, sugah! I gotta get home too. You and the cutie wouldn't mind walking home an old broad, would ya?"

"Babette, I can give you a ride," Lorelai laughed as she rocked back and forth for Aaden. The motion seemed to calm him down enough that annoyed whining took its place.

"I'm not a hot young thing like you, doll! I need my exercise! Come on!" Babette urged and Lorelai never in her life saw the woman move so fast. She zipped around the counter and was out the door before Lorelai could say one word.

"Guess we're walking," she sighed as she looked down at her fussy baby boy. "We'll I'm walking. You get to ride in the baby mobile, little man, lucky you, huh?" You're always getting a free ride. Just wait till the walking kicks in, than you'll hate this thing," she promised a she lowered him into the seat.

The walk was a weird one at that. Babette was strangely chatty, going on and on about the perks of walking everywhere and how if everyone just walked instead of being lazy, America wouldn't be so fat. Lorelai nodded and agreed where input was necessary while her mind was trying to figure out what was going on. She knew it defiantly wasn't a question of 'if', but 'what.'

By the time Lorelai was on route home from dropping Babette off, Aaden was sound asleep. She sighed at his sleeping body. He had become quite the light sleeper and even just transferring him from her arms to his crib had become the task. He often woke up and needed his belly rocked for several minutes to lull him back to sleep. Sometimes that didn't even work and instead he awoke instantly crying and nothing calmed him down unless he was held again. It prolonged bed time and Lorelai knew the double transfer of having to take him from the stroller, then put him in his crib would defiantly wake him up. So instead, after Babette's house, she decided to turn to the square, having her sights set on the diner.

Luke came down minutes after they left. He was calling apologizes like they were going out of style that he took so long to come and help with Aaden but his voice came to a screeching halt when he found himself met with an empty diner. A frown took his face and confusion followed when he saw that Lorelai's car was still parked out front. He knew she wouldn't have walked if she didn't have to, especially not alone. It was another thing when they were together or she was with Rory and they had planned to make a million stops on the way home but he figured she couldn't have known about the car without trying to start it. Quickly though, he realized that speculation wasn't getting him anywhere so he sprung for his cell that he had left on the counter. Next to it, he found Lorelai's quick, loopy writing scrolled across a napkin saying that she took Aaden home and she'd see him later. Just as the man finished blowing out a relieved breath that the car was a still secret, he heard his wife come barreling into the room. He looked up with wide eyes and was about to say something, but instead choose to hold back when Lorelai walked right passed him and headed for the storage room. Just seconds later, she reappeared glaring at Luke.

"What's wrong with my car?!" She demanded, having put two and two together, but was coming out with five.

Luke sighed. He figured that he should do this the old fashion way, just rip the band aid off.

"It's dead," he said simply. "And not from the light being left on all night or something, it's dead for good," he added, wanting to make that clear.

At first response, Lorelai's eyes widened and her face fell. Luke could hear the wheels turning in her head, the questions brewing, but then suddenly her frown changed to a smile. Luke's brows furrowed, but he quickly found that he didn't have to wait long for an explanation.

"Trying to get me back for the water? Well nice try buddy, but your attempt at a belated April's fool's joke won't fool me," Lorelai grinned. "Try and try all you want but you haven't gotten me in the last nine years and you won't now. Though actually trying does help, so kudos on the attempt, but your dismounts a little short," she explained.

"Lorelai, I'm not joking with you here. Your car is dead."

"Yeah, yeah, ha ha, you're soooo funny," she rolled her eyes.

The man sighed. "Here, go try and start it," he said while pulling her keys from his pocket.

Lorelai eyed him warily, and after just seconds, she saw the sincerity in his gaze. She snatched her keys from his hands and ran out the door.

Luke hung his head as she slid into the driver's seat and jammed the key into the ignition. She must have turned it a dozen times before he looked up to see her bang on the steering wheel and hang her head.

Strangers who may have been looking on at the particular moment may have thought she was crazy. And she was. They may have thought, 'well, it's just an old jeep, what's the big deal?' Well to Lorelai, it was a huge deal. That old jeep was her first car. It was another early move to independence. It held many memories for her, Luke knew that. It spent years with her and Rory. It was more than just a car to them. Having to move out of her and Rory's home was hard enough for her. Having to see the Inn go down in flames was horrible. Signing off on the okay to take down the potting shed broke her heart. And now this, the last shred of all that she originally had, was gone. Luke knew it wouldn't be easy for her and that's why all day, he had been dreading the moment she would walk through the door.

Luke's eyes stayed on her for a minute, waiting for her head to lift up, but when it didn't, he quickly wheeled Aaden out from the back and parked him right at the window before heading outside. He stood on the curb with his hands firm on his hips, giving Lorelai the space she needed right now.

Minutes later, she finally poked her head up. She moved her hair behind her ear, took a deep breath, and then turned to get out of the car. Luke stayed put, unsure of what she wanted right now, though he found out very quickly when Lorelai headed straight for him and wrapped her arms around his body as tight as she could. She pressed her head to his chest and mumbled against him that she didn't want to go car shopping. Luke nodded, whispering soothing words as he rocked them back and forth.

_Yale_

Rory blew out a breath as she rounded the corner while sticking her hand in her pocket to grab her phone. Though it didn't seem like the professor cared much that three points would be deducted from her overall average, she did, and the problem needed to be mended. Now.

"Come on, Paris, pick up," Rory begged into the phone, her face frowning as Paris's voice came through saying to either hang up or leave a message because she's busy and has a life and can't stand by the phone all day just waiting for it to ring. Rory flipped her phone closed and dialed Lane instead.

She held the device to her ear while zig- zagging between people and desks until she got to hers. She dropped her bag carelessly on the surface and then plopped down on her crappy chair. This time it was Brian who said that no one was home and to please leave a message after the beep.

"Lane, call me. I really need to talk to you."

Normally the next, or really the first call, would have been made to Lorelai, but Rory thought that now might not be the best time to tell her mom about her problem. Luke had left a message on her cell while she was in class saying that her mom's car broke down and things weren't looking good. He then later called and told her that the car was a goner. So with that thought, Rory sighed and turned to her computer, ready to busy herself with newspaper work.

"You look stressed," Noah pointed out as he approached her.

"I am," she said without meeting his eyes. "Done?" She asked while holding her hand out for his article.

"Yup," he smiled.

"Great, thanks," Rory said, quickly reaching behind her to file the article with the rest. She then turned back to the monitor screen to sift through her research.

"So what's wrong? You're usually all smiles, like you're straight out of some corny Disney movie," Noah inquired as he leaned to sit on the edge of her desk.

"I'm homeless," she pouted, turning to look at him with sad eyes.

"The seven dwarfs too busy to build you a house?" He grinned.

Rory couldn't help but crack a smile.

"I've been late to class too many times. I can't live in Stars Hollow anymore, it's too far away, but of course there's probably nothing available now. I went through this last year and ended living in a place that had too many dead bolts to count and the cars backfiring sounded like gun shots!" She exclaimed before putting her head on her desk. "Paris lives there with Doyle and it looks like I'm stuck rooming with them again," she sulked.

"Well, you could move in with me," he shrugged.

"What?" Her brows instantly knit as her head shot up.

"Yeah, I moved in with a few buddies last month. Things were too crammed at home, but this way I'm still close, you know? Anyway, it isn't Trumps place or anything but the door's only got one dead bolt and I haven't heard a car back fire yet," he smiled. "It's got three rooms. I room with tom, you've met him," Rory nodded, "and his sister, Allie, is in the other one. We've actually been looking for another roommate; it'll split the rent four ways. Four ways split means more beer in the fridge," he smirked.

"Oh wow," Rory awed. "I might take you up on that."

"Let me know," he said while giving her a smile before turning back to his desk.

_Stars Hollow_

Luke sat on the nursery room floor playing with his son while Lorelai was in their room getting ready.

"One, two, three, four, oh!" Luke frowned as Aaden's arms gave in and his face fell into the blanket. "That's okay, buddy, you lasted a second longer than you did before. You're making progress," he encouraged the boy as he gently rolled the baby's body so he was lying on his back. Aaden wasn't all that happy with the move and his legs kicked as he tried to roll back over. Luke smiled; nodding to boy in showing him that he could do it. It had been more than a hand full of times that he had done it, though only on his right side so far, but still, seeing it amazed Luke every time.

After seconds of trying, Aaden frustration grew to the point where he gave up and his face suddenly scrunched up in anger. Luke reacted quickly, scooping up the baby before the tears could come.

"Faker," Luke grinned as he bounced a suddenly calm Aaden in his arms. "You wanna go see if mommy's ready?" He asked.

"Mmmm," the boy hummed as he sucked on the toy in his hand.

Luke smiled. "Say that around mommy, kay pal? Make her think you're learning her name already."

Lorelai stood in front of her bathroom mirror fussing with her wavy hair, trying to make the frizz go bye, bye.

"Hey," Luke called as he poked his head into the room.

"Hey," Lorelai frowned as she met his reflection in the mirror.

"Almost ready?" He asked.

"Yes," she sighed.

Luke nodded as he walked further into the room. "Aaden came to say hi," he said as he bounced the boy in his arms and got a laugh in return.

Lorelai's lips turned to a smile as she held her arms out to her baby boy. Seeing his mom excited him and he lunged for her embrace, almost falling out of Luke's arms before Lorelai had a grip on him.

"Hey, you're playing favorites again," Luke frowned at his son.

"He knows who has the milk," Lorelai gloated as she stuck her tongue out at her hubby.

Luke didn't have a comeback and he wasn't interested in trying to find one. He was just glad to see his wife happy. She had a crappy day, to say the least.

"He has that effect, doesn't he?" Luke asked as he settled his hand loosely on Lorelai's hip.

"What?" Lorelai asked distractedly as she smiled and cooed at her baby. She ticked the skin underneath his bottom lip. It always made him smile and if she was lucky, laugh.

"Look in the mirror," Luke whispered as he leaned his chin on her shoulder.

Lorelai slowly turned her attention away from Aaden to find a bright smile looking back at her in the mirror.

"That happy effect?" Lorelai smiled

"The happy effect," Luke sighed, being more than happy to just watch her smile all day.

_Sniffy's Tavern_

"Oh jeez," Luke groaned when he saw Maisy approach them with a giant cake in her hands.

"Oh yay!" Lorelai cheered at the surprise. She turned to clap her hands at Aaden and he quickly joined in on the excitement, laughing up a storm at his mommy.

"Why'd you get a cake?" Luke grumbled.

"I can't believe _I_ didn't get him a cake!" Lorelai said as she hit her hand to her forehead. "It's a good thing your grandma and grandpa did, isn't it, baby?" She cooed to her son. "Yeah, they know how to party."

"Yes we do," Maisy agreed with a proud smile as she carefully placed the lit cake on the table, close enough that Aaden could see it, but far enough away that he couldn't reach for it.

"He can't even eat that," Luke pointed out, looking at the cake with disgust.

"No, but he can watch and learn," Lorelai grinned as she eyed the desert, just waiting to dig in.

"Learn what? How to stuff your face? Clog your arteries? Die before you hit sixty?"

"Yup," Lorelai nodded solemnly.

"Oh be quiet you," Maisy hushed Luke. "A baby only turns three months once. That should be celebrated."

"Yes it should," Buddy agreed excitedly as he slipped into the booth beside his wife.

"So how's he doing?" Everything growing okay?" Maisy asked about the recent doctor's visit that the boy had as she went to start slicing the cake

"Yup, he's sproutin with the best of em," Lorelai nodded as her focused stayed on the cake.

"He's getting chubby, he shouldn't be having cake," Luke argued as a last ditch effort.

"Shush, grinch, he's just watching," Lorelai frowned at her cranky husband. "And he's a baby; he's supposed to be chubby."

"He's just fine," Buddy beamed at the boy that he and his wife thought of as a grandson.

"That's nothing but sugar," Luke pointed out as Lorelai began her attack on her poor piece.

"That's the point, Lucas. Now eat before it melts," Maisy ordered.

"I'm not eating that," he refused stubbornly.

"You're being dramatic. Eat your cake before I make you sit by yourself," Maisy warned him. Lorelai had to force her giggles to stay at bay and she quickly forked another piece of cake to keep her mouth busy.

"Listen to her, son, you know how she gets," Buddy whispered in his ear.

Luke sighed in defeat as he moved his plate closer and speared the tiniest piece.

"Oh, before I forget, April 27th is Aaden's Christening," Lorelai announced.

"Good," Maisy nodded. "Buddy, remind me to write that down later."

"Yes ma'am," the man smiled.

"And this time, pray we don't have to cancel," Lorelai grinned.

"Damn candle," Luke cursed.

"No. Damn the sprinklers that wouldn't shut off and drenched everything," Lorelai corrected.

"Damn sprinklers."

"And damn the fire that burnt the holy table thingy."

"Damn fire."

Lorelai nodded at her husband as she forked some icing from his cake.

"The guy just couldn't bump the next one down and do Aaden," Maisy rolled her eyes.

"Apparently all the moms in Stars Hollow picked that particular day to dump a bucket of Holy water on their kid's heads. We're lucky we even got a spot in the first place," Lorelai explained. "And it's not the Reverend's fault, its Taylor's. The man thinks he's king of Stars Hollow or something. "

"He's systemically buying up the town," Luke added.

"He's the head of every group you can think of, he owns to many building's the count, one of them being the church. How he landed that gig, I have no idea. He's not even Catholic… I don't think," Lorelai frowned. "Or Jewish," she added. "What is Taylor?" She asked Luke.

"Hell if I know," the man shrugged.

"Hey, language," Lorelai cautioned. "Daddy meant heck, sweets," she smiled at her son who was drooling up one of his toys.

"So, Lorelai, how's he been behaving?" Buddy segued.

"He's finally starting to sleep through the night. All is good," she grinned.

"Not the baby. Luke," Buddy corrected.

"We know this little's guy's an angel," Maisy smiled at the baby.

"Oh yeah, look at that halo," Luke rolled his eyes as he pointed his fork over the baby's head.

"Ahh!" Aaden yelled as he threw the toy he had and reached his curious fingers to try and grab the fork, but Luke managed to pull it away before he could touch it. Aaden wasn't too thrilled with that, and when he looked down for his toy and found it gone, tears boiled in his eyes.

"Hey, buddy, you're ruining your angel rep," Lorelai frowned at her son as she turned to pull him from his bouncy seat that sat between her and Luke.

"Oh, let me take him," Maisy's face brightened as she held her arms out. Lorelai nodded and carefully she turned to pass the boy off. "Grandma's got you," the older woman murmured soothingly as she rocked the baby to calm him down.

"Here, this should help," Lorelai said as she pulled a teething ring from the diaper bag. He was still young for it to be of actual use, but he liked gnawing on them. "And to answer your question, I think you need to give your boy Lucas here a stern talking to. He killed my car," she pouted at Buddy.

"Jeez," he rolled his eyes, refusing the bite the bait.

"Don't you worry, we'll make sure to have two deserts next week," Buddy whispered, grinning.

"And lots of red meat, he hates the red meat," Lorelai smirked.

_Two Days Later (Wednesday)_

_Yale_

Realizing that she had waited long enough, Rory called up her mom the day before and asked her to come meet her at Yale for lunch. Of course Lorelai agreed, more than eager to see her daughter and so the plans were set to meet in the dining hall between Rory's two classes.

"Hey, Gilmore," Lorelai smiled when she spotted Rory sitting at a table near the window.

"Hey, Danes," Rory grinned.

Lorelai frowned. "Is that weird?" She asked as she sat down.

"Is what weird?"

"That your last name is different from mine."

"Oh. Well, a little, maybe, but I've gotten used to it."

"Maybe I should change it back," Lorelai said thoughtfully.

"Yes, you should," Rory nodded solemnly.

"You're my daughter, we should have the same last name," Lorelai pouted.

"And Aaden's your son, don't forget about him," Rory pointed out. "Plus if the thought's just occurring to you now, I don't think it's a big deal," Rory smiled. Lorelai's face further. "Really mom, it's more than okay. And you've still got the Gilmore; you've just got Danes after it. That's the way it should be," Rory assured her.

"Yeah," Lorelai sighed. "So what's going on? How's school?"

"It's, um, going okay," Rory answered carefully.

Lorelai's brows knit. "What's with the 'um?'"

"What?"

"You 'um-ed.' Why did you 'um?'" Lorelai asked.

Rory sighed. "Listen, mom. I need to tell you something and I need you to understand that I am doing this purely for academic reasons. And the less gas I use, the better the environment, right?" She laughed nervously. "So environmental reasons, add that to the list too."

"What? Tell me," Lorelai said quickly

"It's just, well; this distance thing isn't working out too well. I've already been late to class a handful of times because stupid traffic and it's really gonna start to hurt me if I don't move out," she finished slowly and carefully.

"Move out?" Lorelai questioned.

"Yeah," Rory winced. "I have to, mom, this isn't working and I know that means our house will be empty, but I can't do the commuting thing anymore. It's too unpredictable every morning. I'm always worried that an accident will jam up traffic and I'll be late, which has happened too many times now and I mean, you and Luke have been helping out so much with bills and everything, it isn't fair. I have to move out."

"We don't mind helping out, really," Lorelai insisted.

"I have to," Rory said gently.

Lorelai sighed as she fell back against her chair.

"I can't sell it," she whispered.

"Good, because I can't either," Rory agreed.

"I don't care if we lose money, we're keeping it. I can't sell it," she said firmly.

"Plus, when school lets out for the summer, I may need a place to crash for a while until I get a job and figure things out, and then maybe even after that. "

"Good," Lorelai nodded. "The car is dead."

"I know," Rory nodded sadly.

"Luke?"

"Yeah."

"It just gave out," she explained, her face fallen.

Rory nodded in understanding. "It was a good car."

"The best," Lorelai added.

There was a moment of silence.

"So, um, we should eat," Rory said lamely.

Lorelai nodded mutely and together they stood up to get on line.

_Next Morning_

A smile was on Lorelai's face as she peddled her way through the cool spring air. Her favorite tune was playing in her ears and the sun was shining down on her face as she rode past her friends and neighbors. She waved to everyone she knew and offered them each a good morning smile to start off the day.

When she got to the diner, she carefully parked her bike beside the light pole and then turned to go inside.

"Good morning all," she greeted the room with a happy face as she headed for the counter.

"Morning, sugah," Babette smiled. "Cute bike ya got out there!" She complimented.

"I know, isn't it," Lorelai grinned.

"Bike?" Luke questioned from behind the counter.

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded. "I say who needs a car when you can ride a perfectly good bike. They're environmentally safe and good exercise. I should write their slogan, huh?" She smiled.

"_You're_ riding a bike?" Luke asked in disbelief.

"Not right this second, but five minutes ago, yeah, I was," Lorelai answered as she picked up the new video monitor they got and looked at the screen to see Aaden, who was sleeping soundly in the pack n play that was up in Luke's old apartment.

"You _rode_ a bike?"

"Don't sound so shocked," Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"You hate exercise," Luke pointed out. "And since when do you give a rat's ass about the environment?"

"Well, you know, if Al Gore's all for it, so am I."

"You hate Al Gore."

"Everyone hates Al Gore. He's always going on and on about Global warming, I mean really, get a hobby man."

Luke shook his head, trying to catch up.

"Where did you even get a bike?" He asked.

"My garage," she answered easily, her eyes scanning the breakfast items on the menu.

"Your garage?" Luke questioned. "I've been in your garage a million times and not once did I see a bike," Luke pointed out.

"Oh, I moved it years ago when Lane's band needed the space to practice," Lorelai waved off. "I got it after I had Rory, to work off the pregnancy weight. Babette's been storing it for me in her shed," she explained. "And I'll take the, Lorelai-for-once-isn't-running-late special. No cheese," she added.

"Is there at least air in the tires?" Luke grumbled as he turned to make her food.

"And handle bars. Amazing isn't it?" Lorelai answered sarcastically.

"When you're finished eating, I'm putting air in the tires," Luke yelled from the stove.

"I don't need air!" She yelled back.

"If you're gonna be riding that thing around, you need air! And I'm putting a bell on it!"

"I don't want a bell!" She refused stubbornly.

"People need to know you're coming!"

"What if I don't want people to know I'm coming?!"

"You're getting a bell!" He argued firmly.

"I want a horn!"

"Fine! You want a horn!? You'll get a damn horn! Happy?" Luke questioned as he came out with a pot of coffee and a mug.

Lorelai nodded, grinning.

_Later_

_Dragonfly Inn_

"You have to get out of here! Now!" Lorelai heard Michel's screeching voice as she hoped up the steps of the Inn.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" She then heard a familiar male voice.

"Why are you here!? You can't have the Inn!" Michel yelled.

Lorelai quickly hurried through the door and to the desk. "Hey, hi, hello," she said in a rush, trying to step in before there was any bloodshed.

"Miss. Gimore, good," Mike smiled in a relief when he saw her.

"Oh, it's Lorelai," she waved off the formal name.

"Right, Lorelai," Mike nodded as he remembered.

"And Danes, not Gilmore," she added.

"Ah, you're married," he smiled. Lorelai nodded. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," she smiled. "So, my office?" She questioned as she gestured to the door behind the desk.

"Yes, please," he insisted, more than eager to get away from the annoying French man.

"Go on in, I'll be right there," Lorelai explained. The man complied and took the lead.

"Hey, cujo, grab a chew toy and cool it," Lorelai warned him.

"Why is he back here?" Michel sneered.

"Relax, Michel, he isn't going to buy the Inn, I promise," she swore, trying to ease his mind.

"Then why is here?" Michel asked insistently.

Lorelai sighed. "I don't know," she confessed while sticking her purse below the desk and folding her jacket over her arm.

Michel huffed petulantly as he turned back to the computer screen.

Lorelai put on a smile just before walking into her office. She carefully closed the door behind her, and then went to take her seat behind the desk. Mike smiled at her, taking his eyes away from the various photo's that were scattered around her desk and focusing on Lorelai.

"So how have you been?" He asked politely as she settled into her seat.

"Good, good," she nodded.

Mike smiled as he reached for a particular picture. "Your son?" He asked while holding up a photo of a fairly new born baby.

"Yes, Aaden," she explained with adoring eyes.

"Cute," he nodded.

"Thank you," she smiled. "And yourself? How have you been?" She asked, returning the gesture.

"Not too bad," he smiled. "Business is even better, although I am concerned about yours. That's why I'm here."

_To be continued…_

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	17. From Staring To Glancing

**Chapter Seventeen**

_Friday_

_Gilmore Mansion_

"Come on, baby," Lorelai smiled as she eased her son from his car seat.

The baby held a gummy smile as he hummed against the toy that was in his mouth.

Lorelai kissed his chubby little cheek before she pulled him to her chest.

Once Luke freed the stroller from the bed of his truck, he walked around his car and to his stepdaughter's Prius, where Lorelai and Rory were unloading their things. His wife and son had taken a ride with Rory because the baby's car seat couldn't go in his truck.

"Drop him in," Luke said as after he expertly unsnapped the stroller.

"Nice," Rory grinned at his wording.

"Daddy treats you like you're a sack of potatoes, doesn't he?" Lorelai grinned at her son as she strapped him in. "He throws you around like you're a doll."

"I do not," Luke protested.

"Right, I'm sorry; like you're a football. Footballs are manly," Lorelai said with an assertive nod.

"One more word and you're sitting next to your mother," Luke warned his wife.

Rory couldn't help but giggle at the two as she stepped in front of Lorelai to wheel her baby brother to the door.

Lorelai and Luke quickly caught up, Lorelai trying to keep from laughing after she made the motion of zippping her mouth closed.

"Well, hello girls. Come in," Emily sighed tiredly after she opened the door to find her daughter and granddaughter.

"Hi, grandma," Rory smiled brightly as she wheeled Aaden passed Emily.

The woman gave Rory a nod.

"Hey, mom," Lorelai said with furrowed brows. "No maid?

"Fired her this morning," Emily said dismissively. "Hello, Luke," she greeted her son in law.

"Good to see you, Emily," he smiled politely as he kept up behind Lorelai with his hand on the small of her back.

"Yes," Emily nodded in agreement. "Well, come on, we may as well have drinks before dinner," she said as she turned to lead them to the living room.

"Don't we always," Lorelai whispered to Luke as his hand slid down her back and found hers.

The man nodded, worry creasing his face as well as his wife's.

"Mom, talk to her," Rory whisperd as she nudged Lorelai's side. "Something's wrong."

"You talk to her," Lorelai insisted.

"Someone talk to her," Luke chimed in.

"Aaden, talk to her," Lorelai said as she looked down at the baby.

At the sound of his mother's voice directed towards him, Aaden leaned his head up the best he could and started laughing at her smiling face.

"Yeah, she's funny looking, isn't she?" Luke grinned down at his boy.

"Hey!" Lorelai exclaimed as she swatted at Luke's chest.

"Here you go, girls," Emily said as she handed them each a beer. "Luke, your usual martini?"

"Uh," he started, but Lorelai cut him off.

"Yes," she nodded for him.

The second Emily turned around, Lorelai handed Luke the beer in her and Rory's hands and than motioned for everyone to sit down.

Once they all got settled in, Lorelai wheeled Aaden closer to her and started looking through his things for another toy since he seemed to be losing interest in the one he was holding.

Just as Lorelai pulled out a teething ring and a Seasame Street hammer, Emily turned around with two martinis in her hands, offering them both to Rory.

"Um, grandma," Rory started. She didn't usually drink while she was there, let alone two at a time.

"Thanks, I'll take em," Lorelai smiled brightly as she took the drinks and immediatly began gulping down the one that was closest to her mouth.

"Guess I'm driving home." Luke grinned.

Lorelai nodded encouragingly as she quickly finished off her drink and went to start on her second one.

"Grandma, are you okay?" Rory asked worriedly.

"Yes," she sighed.

"Are you sure?"

Emily gave her granddaughter a small smile. "It's your grandfather," she began to explain, "he's been hauled away in his office; ever since he's heard about what happened, he hasn't stopped making calls."

"What? What happened?" Luke asked curiously.

"You don't know?" Emily asked, surprised. She turned to look at Lorelai.

Luke and Lorelai exchanged confused glances as she tipped her glass to her mouth.

"Shoud I?" He asked carefully.

"Emily?!" Richard's booming voice called.

She sprang up. "Yes?!"

"Are they here?!"

"Yes!"

Richard nodded to himself as he hurried to the living room.

"Lorelai," he sighed at the site of his daughter.

Lorelai quickly put down her almost empty glass and looked up at her father.

"Hey, dad," she said, greeting him with an overly bright smile.

"I heard what happened with Mike Armstrong," he began.

"What? How did you find out about that?" She demanded, her face turned to confusion.

"He called me yesterday. He wanted me to try and persuade you to take his offer since you wouldn't accept it the other day. He thinks I, being your father, will be able to get through to you. Now we both know that isn't the case but I am going to ask you to please, take the deal, Lorelai," he begged. "Your Inn may not surive this if you don't."

Luke gave his wife's hand a quick squeeze, reminding her to stay calm before she could start speaking. He didn't want this to turn into a fight.

Lorelai took in a breath. "Look, dad, I know you're trying to help me here, but the Inn will be fine," she said confidently. "He doesn't even know if this deal will happen, so please, can we not worry about this. At least not until there's something to worry about," she added.

"But there is something to worry about, Lorelai," Richard's voice was begging for her to understand. "Your success; the ongoing publicity that your Inn has accumulated, being in the top ten list for the third year in a row, has caused a lot of attention," he explained.

"I know all this, dad," Lorelai waved off. Mike explained it all.

Richard went on anyway. "Big businesses have recognized this and want to try their luck at small town Inn's. They think there's a certain charm in one of a kind. No one has purchased the property of the old Independence Inn yet. Unless you sign on with Mike amd move away from the Dragonly- not completely, just enough to some how be apart of both- his company will buy that Inn and crush you, Lorelai," he explained. "I know you think otherwise and I know this arrangement wouldn't be ideal, but this way, if your Inn should fail because of this, at least you have Mike. You know the man really has no interest in partaking in this. He has enough on his plate, but becuase he knows me, because he knows you, he's trying to buy that propety before anyone else can so you can be on board with him and not lose everything you have," Richard stressed, truly worried about her business.

Lorelai sighed. She pulled her face into a smile as she looked to her dad with understanding eyes.

"Dad, I know you're worried about the Inn and I am too, but I told Mike not to buy the property. I know he doesn't want it and I told him thank you for caring, but I beleive in what I have, dad." Lorelai smiled. "I told this to Mike and I'll tell you; let somone by the Inn. Let some big cooperate business come and try and take me out. I don't mind a challenge, dad, you know that. I don't mind a fight and I will fight for the Dragonfly if I have to, but I won't run away. I won't sign on to something just to avoid a struggle. My heart wouldn't be in that place, dad," she said gently. "I put everything I am, everything I have, into the Dragonly and I will stick by it," she finished firmly.

Luke smiled. Though he did panic when he first heard what happened with Mike, he knew Lorelai may be stubborn, but she was determined. That's what counted. She wouldn't let the Inn, her baby, go down.

"And you're okay with this?" Richard asked Luke.

"Yes," he nodded. He would support his wife in whatever she wanted to do.

"And you?" He looked to Rory, hoping for her support.

"Well, I know nothing about running your own business, but I know mom wouldn't do this if she thought she coudln't," Rory said, proud of her mom.

Lorelai turned to give her daughter a thank you smile.

Richard sighed. Thoug he was relenting a bit, he was still worried.

"Dad," Lorelai's face softened as she called his attention. "The Inn is going to be fine. _I'm_ going to be fine," she stressed. "Just please, trust me, okay?"

Richard cracked a small smile as he nodded.

"Excuse me, Ms. Gilmore? Dinner is ready, " the young maid said shyly from the doorway.

"Thank you, Rosalie," Emily nodded to the woman. "Come on, let's eat," she said to everyone.

_Later_

_The Road_

"Rory, no. No, no, no." Lorelai shook her head frantically as the younger girl drove them back from the elder Gilmore's, where they just finished up dinner.

Rory sighed. "Mom, unless I find a card board box and live out on the street, I have to move in with him."

"What about Paris?" She's still living with Doyle, right? They probably still have that room open. You know no one would make it through that girl's intense screening process. Why don't you call her up, see if you can move back in with her," Lorelai suggested.

"You hated it when I lived there," Rory reminded her. "How long did it take for me to convince you that those guys weren't out to kill college girls?"

"Well they weren't a Jazz band or whatever, as you claimed they were!" Lorelai defended.

Rory grinned. "And now I found a better, cheaper, safer place to live and you're complaining?" Rory asked archly.

"Rory, come on. You know you can't move in there."

"Why?" Rory asked innocently.

"Rory," Lorelai said, using that tone that said, you-know-why.

"What, mom? What's the problem?"

"Have you told Jess? What does he think about this? And what about Marty, huh?" Lorelai asked

"Marty? What? What does he have to do with this?" Rory asked, confused.

"Hon, I don't know why you think moving in with another guy is okay, but it isn't," Lorelai said firmly. "You know Jess won't like this. You know it will cause problems."

Rory didnt' say anything. She just took in a breath as she kept her focus on the road.

"Oh my God," Lorelai's eyes widened. "You want to cause problems," she accused.

Rory sighed.

"But why?" Lorelai asked. "You love Jess," she pointed out.

"I don't love Jess," Rory snapped. "Not anymore," she said sadly. "I thought we'd be able to pick up where we left off, you know? But things aren't the same. He's always coming and going with the store and I'm so busy with school and I guess we just aren't eighteen anymore," she finished sadly. "I'm all mixed up. Marty came back and I just- and Noah, he- I don't- I don't know what I'm doing anymore, mom," she turned to glance at Lorelai with pleading eyes.

"Pull over."

"What?"

"Pullover, ill drive home," Lorelai verified as she gave her daughter a smile. "You relax and we'll talk about it when we get home," she said reassurangly.

Rory nodded mutely as she pulled to the side of the road and they swtiched spots so Lorelai could drive.

_Later That Night_

_Danes Home_

Lorelai winced as the pain shot through her body.

Slowly, her face eased and she looked down at her baby with a tired sigh. Thankfully, he didnt have any teeth yet, or Aaden's gums clamped around her nipple and sucking a mile a minute, would have hurt a hell of a lot more when he sometimes bit down too hard.

"Lucky guy," Luke grinned as he walked through the room in his sweats and a T for bed.

Lorelai looked up at her husband with sleep clouded eyes and long day's exhausted smile.

"Jealous?" She asked as she managed to spread a grin.

Luke nodded as he plopped down in front of her on the ottoman. He reached to work his fingers through her soft, silky hair; gently pushing the tendrils behind her ear and spreading his fingers across her warm cheek.

"You know, I could take over sometimes," Luke offered as he looked down to watch his son have his late night snack.

"You don't got the goods, babe," Lorelai smiled.

Luke sighed but he couldn't help his smile. "The bottle,"

"He hasn't been happy with the bottle, you know that," Lorelai said gently.

"He can tough it out sometimes. His mom needs a break."

Lorelai smiled as she reached to cup his scruffy cheek.

"His mom likes doing things for him," she smiled. "I don't mind, really," she assured him.

Luke sighed. Sometimes he hated that she was so stubborn.

"I know it's been better for him. I know you don't mind doing it. I know you like that he's been wanting this, but if you're getting burnt out, you have to tell me, Lorelai," he said firmly, but gently. "We're both in this."

"I know," Lorelai nodded. "You're a good daddy," she said as she layed her head back agianst the rocking chair. "You're too good to me," she sighed.

"Yup. Don't know why either," Luke grinned as he stood up, pressed a quck kiss to her forehead, then hurried from the room before he could hear Lorelai's protests.

_Next Day_

_Diner_

"Luke!" Lorelai called from the counter where a plate of eggs, sausage and toast, sat in front of her. Egg whites, whole wheat toast, low fat butter, and no bacon. That was the hardest; leaving out the bacon, but Luke convinced her too. Well guilted was probably a better word.

For a while now, Lorelai had been trying to eat healthier; ever since she got pregnant, she realized that she didn't exactly do it right the first time around. She was a rebellious teen who thought she was invincible. She got lucky that Rory came out okay. She got lucky that she herself was okay while Rory was growing up. Now she was older and married with a baby; she would try harder this time.

"Coming!" The man called from the second floor.

Lorelai hurriedly stuffed the last of her eggs into her mouth as her feet rocked Aaden's stroller back and forth.

The baby was nodding off to sleep. It was late morning, right around his usual nap time and Lorelai was hoping he'd get some Z's for a while so she could hang with April and her friends during her step daughter's birthday party.

"Lorelai!" April screamed with barely contained excitement as she burst through the door.

Lorelai quickly chocked down what was in her mouth as she turned to greet the teen. She, of course, was expecting the line of girls that followed behind April, but what she wasn't ready for was the group of women, one of them being Anna, who were behind the girls.

"Oh, hi," Lorelai smiled as April ran into her and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

"Thank you," April whispered as she looked up at Lorelai.

"You're welcome," Lorelai smiled.

"Lorelai," Anna greeted with a forced smile as she caught up with her daughter.

"Anna," Lorelai matched her nod.

The sworm of teenage girls quickly filled the room; laughing and smiling and talking excitedly about the carnival that they saw on the way over.

And behind them came their moms.

Lorelai kept her forced smile as she shook hands with each of them and just as she finished greeting the last one, Luke came running down stairs.

"Sorry, " he apologized as he was wiping his hands on a towel. "Damn sink was clogged again."

"That's okay," Lorelai said quickly and Luke could hear the, help-me plea, in her voice.

The man looked up from his drying hands and was taken back by his suddenly overfilled diner.

"Hey, Anna," he said with confused brows.

"Hey, Luke. I was just introducing everyone to your girlfriend," she explained.

"Wife," he corrected automatically.

"Right, wife." Anna nodded.

"Lorelai, you ready?" April asked as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

Lorelai looked down at Aaden, whose eyes were wide open now, his curiousity probably being the only thing that was distracting him enough from cying. The baby hated loud noises.

She looked up at Luke, then down at their son and the man immediatly sprang into action.

"You go ahead, we'll meet you out there," Luke promised as he bent to pick up Aaden from the stroller.

The boy took comfort in his daddy's arms and layed his head down on Luke's shoulder.

The mom's said goodbye to their daughter's and when everyone was gone, Lorelai pecked a quick kiss to Luke's lips which earned her a chorus of, awwwww's, from the laughing girls. Lorelai turnd to them, grinning and they left in a rush of giggles and smiles.

The afternoon started out very well.

Lorelai and the girls ran around the square, stopping to play games, to eat junk food, to get their fortune's told and now, just shy of two hours later, they were coming from the beauty store when loud whistling caught everyone's attention.

"Oh no," April ducked her head.

"Hey, girls," a boy, from Lorelai's point of view, looked to be about the girls age, said as he approached them.

"Hey, Chad," one of the girls smiled as she waved shyly at him.

"Hey, Dana," he returned the gesture.

Lorelai smiled at the scene; classic early teen behavior.

"Well look whose got party crashers," Lorelai grinned as she whispered in April's ear.

"He's not my boyfriend," April said quickly.

"Who?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"Hey, April. Happy birthday," A voice called from the group.

Lorelai looked up. "Oh, him," she grinned.

April buried her face in her hands.

_Later_

_Square_

Luke stood off to the side with his arms folded over his chest and a not so happy look on his face.

"I don't like this," he said in a hushed tone to Lorelai who stood next to him with a bright smile.

"A boy likes her," Lorelai smiled excitedly. "It's cute."

"She's too young to have a boyfriend; that's it," Luke said with a underlining movement of his hand.

"She's growing up, babe," Lorelai said gently. "But you don't know; this may not turn into anything," she shrugged.

"I'll kill him," Luke grumbled, glaring at the boy who was watching April open her presents.

"Just know that if you go to jail, you take the baby with you," Lorelai teased.

The man just sighed.

_Later On_

"And now we say goodnight," Lorelai smiled at her daughter as they reached their first home.

Rory leaned her head agianst her mom's shoulder and Lorelai gave Rory's arm a squeeze.

"Hon, I know you're confused and your head's in a million different places right now, but please, don't move in with Noah just becuase you want an easy out with Jess," Lorelai explained gently.

They had been fairly silent on the walk home and now Lorelai needed to pull out some motherly advice and try and talk some sense into her daughter. She had avoided it throughout the day and when the party broke up, Luke encouraged his wife to walk with her daughter. He would handle Aaden until she got home.

"You need to talk to him, sweets," Lorelai said gently. "If you need to break up, if you need time to think, take it," she encouraged.

Rory nodded.

"You don't need to be in a rush for anything, angel face," Lorelai smiled as she wrapped her arm around her daughter. "Talk to him," she whispered.

"Okay," Rory took in a confident breath. "I will."

"Good," Lorelai smiled before she kissed her daughter's forehead. "Night, babe. Call if you wanna talk, okay?"

Rory nodded. She pulled away from her mom, kissed Lorelai's cheek and then went inside with the hopes of being able to come up with a plan for what she would say to Jess when he got back on Monday.

_Danes Home_

Lorelai trudged up the porch steps and into her dark foyer. The only light coming from the T.V where Lorelai could see Luke's feet hanging off the arm of the couch. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of her adoring husband waiting up for her.

Well, trying to wait up for her.

Quietly, she kicked her shoes of, unzipped her jacket, hung it on the rack and tip toed into the living room.

Lorelai walked around the couch, sat down on the edge of the coffee table and smiled down at her sleeping man.

She carefully leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his slightly parted lips.

The man didn't stir. It didn't offend Lorelai or anything; the man was dead to the world when he was alseep. It would take more than a simple kiss to wake him.

Just as Lorelai was reaching for Luke's belt buckle, the phone rang and she frowned when the unwanted noise stole her moment.

"What? What happen?" Luke asked as he jumped up.

Lorelai laughed as she reached for the phone. She managed to pick it up before the second ring and thankfully, Aaden's cry's didnt follow. Usually, after Aaden would fall asleep for the night, they would turn the ringer off.

"Hello?" She called into the phone.

Her eyes strayed to the clock and her face fell when she saw that it was only after eight o'clock. It had been a long day for everyone and it felt much later than it was.

"April?" Lorelai questioned at the voice on the other end.

Her brows were cocked as she listened to the teen on and then suddenly, her expression changed.

"Oh my God!" Lorelai gasped.

Luke looked up at her.

"He kissed you?!" She exclaimed. "Oh my God! Oh my God!" Lorelai cheered as she danced down the hall and into the kitchen.

Luke's eyes widened.

_Bedroom_

"Lorelai, stop," Luke warned as he left the bathroom, where Lorelai was pushing a brush through her hair. "You don't know what you're doing here. Rory didn't start dating until she was sixteen," he reminded her.

"Yes and that's my point; every girl's different," Lorelai explained as she flipped the light closed and walked into the bedroom, where Luke was unfastening his watch. "I had my first kiss when I was fifteen," she shrugged.

"Yeah and look what happened," Luke grumbled.

"What?" Lorelai asked as she spun around to face him.

"Nothing," Luke shook his head.

"Look what happened?" She mocked him. "Is that really you're arguement here?" She asked, getting on the defense

Luke sighed. "She's too young to be dating; that's my arguement," he said as he walked past her.

Lorelai followed him.

"What are you afraid of, Luke?" Lorelai asked dauntingly. "That's she's gonna get pregnant and make a mistake like I did?"

Luke turned around. He was too tired for this.

"That's not what I mean't."

"Then what did you mean?" Lorelai asked with anger burning in her eyes.

"Can we please just drop this?" Luke asked desperately. "This isn't something you and I have to talk about; Anna and I need to talk about this, okay? Let it go," he pleaded with her.

Lorelai's face fell and Luke instantly regretted the whole converstaion when he saw the hurt spread across her face like wildfire.

"Lorelai, no, I'm sorry, I didn't," he said in a rush, but the sound of the bathroom door slamming, stopped him.

Aaden started crying.

Luke hung his head.

_to be continued..._

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	18. An Engine Says, I Love you

**Chapter Eighteen: An Engine Says, I love You.**

A tired sigh escaped Lorelai as she rolled over onto her stomach. The sun was burning through her window and even without that reminder, her body knew what time it was.

She buried her face into her pillow and tired to force herself back to sleep, but unfortunetly, her body wouldn't allow it. It was just around seven and after months of having to wake up around this time to feed Aaden and years of waking just a tad later for work, her internal clock was buzzing. Even on the weekends it was hard for her to lull herself back to sleep and this Sunday morning would be no exception.

After just two minutes, she gave up. If she had a white flag, she would have been waving it.

She groaned into her pillow and then abruptly tossed onto her back. Her arms and legs were spread out and her brows were knit as she stared out her window.

"Stupid light," she mumured, cursing the sun which didn't help her efforts.

She craned her neck to glance at her alarm clock and her thoughts were confirmed when she found, 7:12 a.m flashing in big bright red letters. She was half tempted to grab the stupid clock and send it flying across the room, but the little angel sitting on her shoulder won over the little devil and she looked away, deciding agianst hurting the innocent alarm clock.

Unconisouly, her arm reached over to Luke's empty spot and a frown couldn't help but to take over Lorelai's lips. The sheet was cold; he had been gone for at least two hours by now to open the diner. She grabed his pillow to curl it agianst her body and a note fell onto the bed.

_Lorelai,_

_I'm an ass. Don't know you why you married me cause half the time I'm being a jerk. I'm sorry. We don't say this much, but I'm saying it now, I love you. _

_Breakfast is downstairs. Come by the diner later, even if it's just to yell at me. I just want to see you, talk to you. I'm not above begging, you know that. _

_Luke. _

Lorelai smiled as she read the note again. He would definatly get the award for shortest apology note, but that's what made him so great. He just got the point; saying very little, but so much at the same time.

Of course she would forgive him. They needed to talk, but she loved him too much not to forgive him. Thats how she knew they would always be okay; there was just too much love. The intensity of it all still amazed Lorelai sometimes. She expected the honeymoon phase to be over by now, but it was nowhere near ending, which lead her to think it wasn't a phase at all. This was their life.

Carefully, she tucked the note away in her purse; right with the note that he left her the morning they got married.

Just as she was slipping her arms into her robe, she heard weak cries coming from the down the hall.

Lorelai grinned. "I'm coming, little cranky pants."

She walked through the open nursery- most likely Luke's doing when he came by for a morning kiss, or they had a ghost, which was cool in Lorelai's book- and headed for the crib.

Aaden was laying on his back, his face all scrunched up in annoyance as he cried waterless tears.

"You're such a little faker," Lorelai cooed to her little boy as she picked him up. "Yet everytime mommy comes running, doesn't she? Yeah," sighed.

He calmed while being held, knowing that his breakfast would come soon, and decided to busied himself with the toy his mommy placed on his belly while she was changing his diaper.

"We're going to a party later," Lorelai awed as she unsnapped his sleeper. "It's Martha's birthday today, aren't you excited, little boy?" She asked with bright eyes and a big smile.

Aaden answerd by pushing his toy into his mouth and kicking his legs impatiently as Lorelai tried to remove his diaper.

"Okay, I get it; you'll be excited after breakfast. Fair enough," Lorelai nodded solemnly as she hurried with their morning routine.

They cuddled up in Lorelai's bed as Aaden had his breakfast and the proud mommy alternated between watching an old sit com on televison and looking down at her boy to re-adjust him when needed. Half the time she just couldn't help but stare at him. He was an awfully cute baby.

Once he finished up, Lorelai reached over the bed to grab the small bucket of toys that was kept in her room and dumped them onto the mattress. Aaden was lying in the center, with a pillow on either side of him and Lorelai sitting in front as they had their weekend morning play time. Rarely, was this done during the week; usually just if Luke or herself had the day off. Morning's were just too busy with work and all, there wasn't enough time to do this.

After about a half hour into play time, there was an undenyable oder wafting through the room.

"You couldn't save these for daddy, huh?" Lorelai smiled at Aaden as she picked him up and went to the nursey. She quickly changed his diaper and then plucked an outfit from his draw to replace his pjs.

Once he was changed and smelling fresh, Lorelai carried him downstairs and put him in his swing. She put cartoons on for him, gave him a toy to keep him busy, and then headed down the hall to take a shower.

She kept it quick and simple; not bothering to straighten her hair or anything, but deciding to just blow it out and embrace the curls. Luke liked it better that way anyway. She put on enough cover up, a bit of liquid liner, and some clear gloss over her lips.

Just as she was finishing up, Aaden's cries let her know that the baby was getting bored with the televison so she hurried from the room and quickly picked up the boy.

"Hey, hey, no crying," Lorelai frowned as tears fell from his eyes. "I'm sorry, baby; girls take a while in the bathroom.

Aaden buried his face in the comforting warmth of his mother's neck and put his thumb in his mouth.

Lorelai thought better than to try and rock him to sleep and instead decided to pull a cute little sweatershirt over his body, some sucks on his feet and put him in the stroller. He would, without a doubt, fall asleep on the way to the diner.

After they were both set and ready to go, Lorelai wrapped up the breakfast Luke left for her- she was too busy with Aaden to eat it earlier- and headed out.

"Hey, John," Lorelai greeted the new mail man as he came up her walk.

"Morning, Lorelai," he smiled as he reached into his bag and pulled out her mail. "Here you go."

"Thanks." She gave him a smile as she accepted the envelopes, and waved as he continued down the street.

She shifted through the letters quickly, determining that most of them were bills, but the name on the last envelope caught her attention.

"Oh my God!" She gasped.

_Town Square_

"She's getting married!" Rory cheered.

"Yes!" Lorelai exclaimed as she switched her cell to the other ear.

"When?!" Rory asked.

Lorelai stuck the phone between her ear and shoulder and used her hand to reach into her purse and pull out the invite.

"June 27th," she read.

"Wow, I can't believe it! Mia's getting married!" Rory awed. "We're going, right?"

"Of course," Lorelai said quickly. "And she can finally meet Aaden," she smiled as she peaked down into the stroller to find her baby fast asleep.

"I can't wait," Rory grinned.

"Me either," Lorelai smiled.

She finished up the block after hanging up with Rory and then wheeled through the empty diner. It was that time between breakfast and lunch; the place was almost always empty during this time of day.

"Hey," Luke said, his eyes lighting up when he saw her.

"Hey," Lorelai said stiffly as she wheeled to a table. She wouldn't let the forgiving process be that easy for him.

Luke's face fell.

"I'm sorry, Lorelai," he apologized, his voice begging for her to let him off the hook that he was dangling from.

"I know," she nodded without looking at him as she pulled out the covered plate from the bottom of the stroller. "Got your note," she said shortly.

Part of giving her hubby the cold shoulder was to get him to beg a little, but there was also a part of her that was still hurt over his words.

"Good, good," Luke nodded nervously. "I didn't mean it, Lorelai. Everything I said... I was just cranky and tired and with April... I don't know how to handle this."

Lorelai nodded.

"You know I don't think Rory was a mistake. I would never think that," he said sincerely.

Lorelai sighed. She put the plate on the table, then looked up at him.

"You can't say something like that, Luke. Even if we are fighting, even if you are cranky, even if you had a bad day, you can't use that against me. It isn't fair," she said, her anger melting into sadness that he hit her below the belt like that.

"I know, I'm a jerk," he said quickly as he rounded the counter to sit next to her.

A small smile took Lorelai's lips. "Yes, I remember reading that somewhere," she grinned.

"Anything you want Lorelai, just forgive me," he begged.

Lorelai took in a breath. "You can't let things get back to the way they were."

Luke's brows knit. "What?" He asked, confused.

"I understood that you were scared and worried and your head was a in a million different places. I understood that you couldn't tell me right away. I even understood you wanting to post pone the wedding, but Luke, I didn't understand you shutting me out," she explained. "That can't happen again," she said firmly. "That was almost it, Luke. If you had let me walk away... well I don't know what would have happened. I know I'm not her mother and I'm not trying to be, but I thought you wanted to talk to me about these things. I thought everything was going good."

"It was, it is," Luke said quickly.

"We're a team here, Luke. I want to help," she stressed.

"I know, and you can. I'm sorry," he apologized again, ready to say it a million more times if that's what it took.

"I don't want to help if you don't want me to," she explained, her eyes sad and fallen.

"I want you to," he assured her. "I do, Lorelai. You know things get to my head sometimes; I wasn't thinking last night. I want you to help," he said firmly. "But I do have to talk to Anna," he said carefully.

"I know," Lorelai nodded while looking down at Aaden.

"It's just, well you know, she's her mom and,"

"I know," she stopped him. "I understand."

"Look at me," Luke whispered.

Lorelai turned; quickly spreading a smile over her face before she met his gaze.

Luke sighed. She may understand, but she wasn't happy about this. Luke knew that, he could tell from the look in her eyes. From the start, she was never too happy about the situation. She's voiced her jealousy over Anna, over the fact that he had a kid with her, but they were getting through it. He wouldn't let this ruin them.

Neither would she.

"Come here," he said while holding his arms open.

Lorelai buried her face in his chest and held her arms tight around his back.

"I love you," he whispered before kissing the top of her head.

"I love you too," Lorelai mumbled agianst him.

_Later_

_Sookie's_

"Hey, Jackson," Lorelai smiled at her neighbor who was standing over the bbq.

"Hey," he turned to give her a smile. "Go on in, guys."

Lorelai nodded as she wheeled the stroller up the walk with Rory and Luke behind her.

"Martha!" Lorelai sang as she went into the living room. "Where are you, birthday girl?!"

"Go say hi, Martha," Sookie encourage her daugheter who was in the kitchen with her.

Lorelai rounded the couch to find the two year old looking pretty in her party dress as she held a sippy cup to her mouth.

Luke went to take Aaden from the stroller, urging the girls to go say hi to the birthday girl.

"You're so big now," Lorelai frowned a she picked the toddler up.

"She is, isn't she?" Sookie said sadly .

"Yeah," Lorelai frowned before kissing the girls cheek. "And getting cuter by the day," she smiled.

_Later_

"Wow," Sookie awed.

"Yeah," Lorelai sighed as they pushed candles into the cake. "But I do have to admit, it wasn't one of our better fights; no screaming, only one door slam and I forgave him way too easily," Lorelai grinned.

"You can't help it, you're in love," Sookie gushed.

"Yeah," Lorelai smiled. "This is hard for him, you know? I get that."

"Yeah," Sookie agreed. "Okay, there we go," she smiled proudly at the cake as she put the final candle through the frosting.

"And finally, we can eat it," Lorelai smiled.

Sookie laughed as she picked up the cake and led the way into the living room where she was met with a chorus of, 'Happy Birthday.'

Sookie's friends and family had their cake and then the party was moved out back so everyone could watch the birthday girl open presents.

Boxes filled with all different kinds of toys and clothes were torn apart by the minute and a picture was snapped with every one.

More than an hour passed during that time and with the opening of the last present, goodbyes soon followed.

The sun was dipping out of site to warm some other part of the world as the moon got brighter and brighter with every step the little family took.

Lorelai and Luke walked hand and hand as Luke kept a loose grip on the stroller. With months of practice, he was able to wheel it with ease now.

"So, good party," Lorelai said.

"Yeah," Luke agreed.

"Soon, it'll be his turn," Lorelai sighed as she tossed a glance at their sleeping boy.

"Soon," Luke agreed. "But not yet," he smiled before lifting Lorelai's hand to kiss her knuckles.

"Right," Lorelai nodded, "not yet."

_Next Morning_

_Danes Home_

Lorelai let for work early to be at the Inn for a meeting with a few insurance guys that her father was sending over. Thankfully, it wasn't because of a fire or anything like that, just to discuss a new plan that Richard was cooking up; something to try and save his daughter some money. He wanted to be there himself, but business at work would keep him from doing so.

Once a week, every week, Casear would start his shift early so Luke could spend a morning at home him with his kid, and, if he was lucky, his wife. There was always the occasonially morning like this where Lorelai would have to leave early.

It was just after ten and Luke was lounging on the couch with his sleeping son on his chest. ESPN was playing on the T.V and the man was just dozing off when a knock at the door made him almost jump off the couch.

Luke shook his head, running his hand over his face before blinking a few times and then narrowing his eyes at the clock to read the numbers.

And then he realized who was at the door.

"Come in, Emily!" He shouted, and then immiedatly winced when he realized that Aaden was sleeping. Luckily, the baby had been getting more adapted to noises and was becoming a tad more resilent. He didn't wake.

"Hello, Luke," the older woman smiled as she stopped to take her coat off and hang it on the rack.

He gave her a nod and a smile.

"How are you?" Emily asked as she approached the couch; picking up a few toys that were strayed across the living room as she went.

"Good," Luke nodded. "How's everything at home?" He asked as he sat up to put Aaden down in the pack n play.

"I have to find another maid," Emily grumped as she sat down on the couch.

Luke grinned as he carefully lowered Aaden onto the matress. He kept his hand on the boy's belly, rocking him and waiting for him to fall back into a deep sleep.

"What'd this one do?" He asked with a smug smile as he turned his neck to look at Emily.

"Oh, she was terribly rude. She never said a word to anyone," Emily waved off. "She always had this look on her face, like there was some disgusting oder in the room. It was rather annoying," she explained.

"I bet," Luke nodded, unable to wipe the grin from his face as he turned to look down at Aaden. Thankfully, the baby seemed to be falling back to sleep and not a tear was shed this time.

"Anyway," Emily segued, "if im not mistaken, you and my daughter have a wedding anniversy next month; correct?"

"Yes," Luke nodded with curiousity.

"Well, we orginally wanted to give you the keys to the house Richard and I have in Martha's Vineyard, and of course, take care of Aaden for the weekend, but I was thinking, with the circumstances, that we'd do something else."

"Something else?" Luke asked carefully as he turned to grab his boots from the mat in front of the door.

"Well I know you're in need of a car,"

"No, we're not," Luke stopped her.

Emily's face turned to confusion.

"Well we are," Luke clarrified. "We were gonna go car shopping, but Lorelai went ahead and started looking at some things online. She couldn't find anything, so I thought of something else. I'm buying an engine and everything from someone and I'm just gonna put it in her jeep. It'll probably cost almost as much to buy a new car, but you know Lorelai. This is what she wants," Luke sighed. "She doesn't want a new car."

"Oh," Emily frowned. "Well Richard and I will pay for the cost."

"No, that isn't necessary, but thank you, Emily," he said sincerely. "But if you're still offering, we may take you up on Martha's Vineyard. I think Lorelai would really like that," Luke said. Things were still a little shaky between he and his wife and he thought this would help out his case. And of course, he wouldn't mind a weekend away with Lorelai. "But you wouldn't have to take Aaden. I'm sure we can get Sookie or something to look after him."

"Oh, of course we'll take him. He's our grandson," Emily said proudly.

"I know you can handle him for the day, but a weekend might be too much," Luke winced.

"No it won't," Emily said firmly. "And I can always hire a nanny for a few days, thats no problem."

Luke sighed. She may not think it would be a problem, but his wife sure would. And he wasn't too thrilled with the idea himself.

_Dragon Fly_

"So how is she, doc?" Lorelai asked.

"Everything seems to be going okay," the vet smiled as he packed his things away.

"Good," Lorelai nodded.

"I'll come back in a few weeks to check on her again," the man assured her.

"Thank you so much," Lorelai said sincerely.

The vet nodded before turning to leave the stables.

Lorelai turned to Desdimona. "Hang in there," she smiled as ran her hand across the horse's belly.

Just as she turned to leave, the phone in her pocket rang.

It was Rory. The younger Gilmore was calling to report to her mom about what happened with Jess. They aren't really broken up, just taking a break from eachother. Rory explained her feelings to Jess and he knew it wasn't fair either. He was away a lot and although he did love her, he agreed to give her some space. He didnt want to be in a relationship with her if she wasn't fully committed.

Lorelai told her daughter that this was a good thing. She knew that Rory needed this time and she assured the younger girl that everything would turn out okay. This would be good for her.

Rory agreed, though she still wasn't one hundred percent completely sure, but she knew something had to be done. She then told her mother that moving in with Noah wasn't the smartest thing so she called up Paris in the morning. The room was of course, was still aviable, and she was moving in tonight.

"Good, honey," Lorelai smiled after hearing the news about the move.

"Yeah," Rory sighed as she walked through the crowded halls. "Plus, I graduate next month so it will only be for a few weeks. You won't have to worry about the Jazz band for too long," Rory grinned.

Lorelai's face fell.

With all that had been going on, the reality of what was about to happen hadn't really hit her yet. Her baby was graduating next month. She was graduating college and would soon take that big leap into the real world.

"Mom?" Rory called.

"What?" Lorelai blinked.

Rorys' brows knit. "You okay?"

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine," she assured her quickly.

"Okay," Rory said warily. "I have to get to class. I'll call you later?"

"Yeah, yeah, call me later," Lorelai nodded.

_Diner_

"How? How did I not realize this?" Lorelai asked from the counter as she forked around the peas that Luke insisted on putting on her plate.

"Aaden all over again," Luke mumbled.

"She's graduating, Luke!" Lorelai excalimed.

The man smiled. "I know," he nodded.

"Next month!" She added.

"I also know that," he nodded as he turned to pour a customer, sitting next to his wife, some coffee.

"Where did it all go, Luke?! Where did it go!?" Lorelai sulked as she looked down at her lunch.

"Where did what go?" Luke asked as he went down the line of customers.

"Time, Luke! The time!" She exclaimed. "Keep up!"

"Sorry," Luke said, trying his best not to laugh.

"I have one whose about to graduate college and one whose drooling on his toys," Lorelai said as she looked down at Aaden who was propped up in his stroller, sucking on a toy key ring. "You won't grow up, will you? You'll say with mommy forever?" She asked the little boy.

He just looked up at Lorelai and smiled, which made her heart melt.

"I'll start thinking of ways to stunt his growth," Luke said dryly as he passed her to round the counter and take orders.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him.

_Later _

_Gypsy's_

After Lorelai left to take Aaden back home and then head back to the Inn, Luke went to meet up with the guy he found on the internet to get the parts he needed for Lorelai's jeep.

He realized he may not have gotten the timing of everything right when he glanced down at his watch and saw that he had to be home in five minutes for the weekly dinner with Buddy and Maisy. This week, it was at their place.

"Hey Gypsy, you almost done?" Luke asked.

"Don't rush me," Gypsy warned from under the hood of the car.

Luke sighed. He quickly pulled out his cell and decided to call home. He warned Lorelai he might be late, but didn't tell her why. Of course she knew what was going on with the car, but she didn't know that Luke was getting it done today. They had both thought it would be another two weeks, but something changed and the guy called up Luke just hours ago, saying if he wanted, he could come pick up the parts now. Luke agreed and was excited about the idea of surprising his wife.

He told Lorelai that things were busy at the diner and Caesar had to leave early. He would be home the minute Lane would come in, which should be soon.

Another twenty minutes or so passed by and finally the car was finished and ready to go. Gyspy handed him the keys with a smile and a big bill, and then Luke was on his way.

The sun was starting to set, but it wasn't quite dark enough for the headlights to be needed yet. Luke was hoping though, that if he turned them on when he pulled up to the house, they would flash through the window and catch Lorelai's attention. He also made sure to pull up as close as he could.

He waited behind the wheel for a couple of minutes, hoping she would come running out, but nothing. He realized that if she was in another room, this would do no good. So instead, he beeped the horn a couple of times.

Lorelai was in the kitchen, making the salad for diner. It wasn't her favorite part of the meal, but it was one of the things that Luke allowed her to make and she liked helping him out.

Buddy and Maisy would come through the door any minute now and she wanted to get a jump on things since Luke was working late.

She was just tossing some tomatoes into the bowl when she heard a couple of loud beeps coming from outside.

With peaked curiousity and an urge to yell at the beeper for possibly waking up her son, she walked down the hall, through the living room and yanked the front door open.

Her jaw fell at the site.

Luke quickly hoped out from the truck and dangled the keys with a huge smile on his face.

"You fixed my baby?!" Lorelai exclaimed as she ran down the stairs to throw her body over the hood of her car.

"Yes," Luke laughed at her, although he wasn't all that surprised that she was hugging the car.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She cheered as she turned around to hug Luke. She presed her lips to his chin, then buried her face in his chest.

Luke wrapped his arms around her and they held their embrace for a minute before Lorelai looked up at him.

"Sometimes you can be a jerk, but then you go and do something like this and I fall for you all over again," she grinned.

Luke kissed her forehead, then held up the keys.

"Go take a spin around the block," he smirked.

Lorelai's smile widened as she quickly grabbed the keys and dashed for the car.

Luke watched with adoring eyes as she drove away.

_.. to be continued..._

**Please Review. And check out my GG facebook. Link is up on my profile page. : ). **


	19. Lawyers, Mazes, and Holy Water

A/N- I want to apologize that I took so long getting this next chapter out. I recently started a new story, and I became a little tunnel visioned. I'm sorry. But worry not! Regular updates are back and here to stay!

And a quick note to those of you who read, Gilmore girls. The new chapter is almost done and ready to go, so expect that, possibly, tomorrow. I make no promises, though. But Wednesday/Thursday would be the latest, if need be.

Okay, well, on with the story! Don't forget to review when you're finished reading! Thank you!

**A Baby Changes Everything**

**Chapter Nineteen: Lawyers Mazes, and Holy Water**

_Late April_

_Church_

"Can we have three god parents?" Lorelai asked.

"Three?" Reverend Skinner questioned.

Lorelai nodded. "Oh, and all of them women. Well, really four, but T.J's just a pretend Godparent. But don't tell him that" she warned." He was all excited when he heard us asking Liz, and he wanted to be apart of it all. And despite the etcha sketch, the poor guy means well," she said with a shrug.

"Jeez," Luke grumbled. Lorelai jabbed him in the chest with her elbow. "Ow," he muttered.

The Reverend smiled. "Well three-four isn't very conventional, but why put a number on the amount of people, right? Why limit the spirtual guidence that your child could receive?"

"Right," Lorelai agreed with a firm nod and bright eyes. "So we're all set then?"

"Yes. I just need the names of the Godparents."

"Oh yeah. Rory is going to be one, and Liz is going to be the other. And Sookie, but I haven't asked her yet. I was waiting for the green light from you," Lorelai explained.

"Great," the man said with a smile as he jotted down the names. "Just let me know if anything changes."

"I will," Lorelai assured him.

All three adults then stood up, and shared a couple of handshakes. After the goodbyes were given, the Danes left for their respective businesses.

"Dinner at Luke's?" Lorelai asked with a grin.

"You can't just say the diner, can you?"

"Nope."

The man sighed. "Dinner at Luke's."

Lorelai smiled. "Bye, doll," she said before kissing his cheek, then turning on her heel, towards her car. And her adoring husband couldn't help but watch her go.

_The Inn_

"Sookie," Lorelai sang.

"Lorelai! Try this!" the chef boomed as she came running with a lattle in her hand.

Lorelai didn't have much time to prepare for the onslaught, and all she could do was open up her mouth and accept the mystery sauce.

"Oh my god!" she gasped. "What is that?" she asked, trying to pin point the fabulous flavors.

"I have no idea!" Sookie exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air, which sent the sauce, and the spoon, flying across the room. "Sorry, Kevin," she apologized with a cringe. The man just waved her off. He, and the rest of the kitchen staff, were all used to the hazardous conditions that Sookie brought with her while she was on the clock.

"You don't know what it is?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"No," Sookie said with a shake of her head as she bounced to the stove. "My arm hit the shelf up there, and all those spices and everything fell. Some of it must have gotten into the pot," she said while looking down into the white, creamy sauce.

"Oh," Lorelai said with a pout as she looked. "Well you better save that, cause I want more," she warned.

"Oh, I'll figure it out. I just need to do some testing," Sookie assured her. "So how'd the meething go? Everything all set for Sunday?"

Lorelai shook her head, and said, "No, not quite."

Sookie frowned. "What happened?"

"Well I haven't asked you if you'd like to be Aaden's Godmother yet," Lorelai said with a shrug.

Sookie's eyes widened. "Me? Really?"

Lorelai nodded. "We asked Liz, and Rory too, but Luke and I would love it if you would be one of the many. I would have given you your own kid, but Aaden might be it for us, so I want to get everyone important in," she said with a smile.

"Yes! Of course!" Sookie squealed. "I'm gonna be Godmother! Oh, like on Sleeping Beauty!"

"Yes, we'll buy you some wings tomorrow."

_Later_

_Dinner_

"Hey, dad," April greeted as she walked through the coffee house. The teen was on spring break for the week, and had been stopping by almost everyday for at least a few hours at a time. Today, she was staying through dinner, and then heading home afterwards, but coming back on Saturday.

Luke looked up, and a smile took his face when he found his daughter. "Hey. I've been saving these for you," he said while pulling out the nearly empty salt and pepper shakers.

April's face fell. "You know, doing that was fun and all last year, when I was a kid, but I'll be in highschool when fall comes, and I think it's time for me to do something bigger. Something more important," she said with decisive nod.

Luke's brows furrowed. "Something more important?"

"Yeah. Like, um..." her voice trailed while her eyes went around the room. "Oh, can I cook?" she asked with a smile. "I make a mean omelet. And toast. Oh, and baked ziti."

Luke's face fell, and he asked, "Baked ziti?"

"Home ec," the girl explained with a shrug. "So can I? Please?"

"I don't know, April. It's not very safe back there," he cautioned.

The teen rolled her eyes. "It's a kitchen. I've been in a kitchen before."

"It's a busy kitchen," he corrected firmly. "People are coming outta there with hot plates, and the gas, and the stove, and the burners are always on. No," he said with a nod. "You can cook upstairs. While I'm up there," he cautioned.

April sighed. "Give me the shakers."

_Later_

_Diner_

"Hi, hey, hello; I need a martini. A big martini. Dry, dry, dry, and twist it up! And anything else you can do with a martini, please feel free to do so."

"We don't serve alcohol," Luke growled with a roll of the eyes.

Lorelai's lips pulled to a smile. "Yes, but in about two minutes, you're going to be running to that chick beer faster than the speed of light, my friend," she warned while pointing down the block, to Dooses.

Luke's brows furrowed, and he asked, "what?"

"I did something bad, very, very bad," she whispered darkly.

Luke sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You ate in bed at two in the morning. It's no big deal. I'll clean it up later."

Lorelai's brows quirked, as she asked. "You think I'd be freaking out because I got some crumbs in our bed?" Luke fixed her with a stare. "And spilled milk on our new sheets." The man's eyes widened, waiting for her to go on. Lorelai rolled her eyes. "And on you. Which is why you woke up."

"Yeah, and your accidents were fine while were you pregnant but there's no excuse now. You get hungry in the middle of the night, you either eat in the kitchen, or go back to sleep and wait for breakfast. That's it," he warned.

Lorelai's brows arched. "And who made you king of the bed? And kitchen," she added.

"I think he appointed himself," April grumped as she came from the store room with a box in her hands.

"Working the salt mines again?" Lorelai asked with a sympathetic frown. "You're on spring break, kid; you'd better be getting time and a half," she joked while turning to smirk at Luke.

April's face brightened as she turned to Luke, and said, "Oh, good point."

"Last time I checked, she wasn't on payroll," Luke said dryly while wiping down the counter.

"Maybe she should be," Lorelai said with a shrug.

April nodded. "I agree," she said while parking on the stool next to Lorelai. "I think, since I've been helping out here for about a year now, that it's time for a promotion."

Luke sighed. "We've been over this. You're not cooking."

"But it doesn't have to be all the time; just when it's not too crowded. And just with breakfast. I can do breakfast. Oh, and lunch. I make the best PB&J."

"Kirk would be very happy," the man grumped.

"Luke," Lorelai warned.

He shook his head. "She's too young. Sh'e not cooking. You of all people know how crazy it gets around here. No. "

"Hello, Luke," a voice called from the door. And all three heads turned to find Emily Gilmore standing in the doorway with a stroller in front of her, where Aaden was sound asleep.

The man's eyes widened. "Emily."

Lorelai grinned, and she whispered, "hope you got your running shoes on, butch."

_Yale_

"You know, last time we did spring break, you kissed me. On the mouth. Then asked me to rate you. I'd rather not have a repeat performance, thank you."

"Relax, Jessica, I have Doyle now, and according to him, I'm kick ass in bed," Paris said while packing up her suitcase They were both done with classes for the week, and were going on a little mini spring break since they were both taking a seminar next week, during the intercession and had to be back for that. And of course, Rory had to be back for her baby brother's christening on Sunday.

Rory frowned. "Unless you drugged me, then took advantage of me, I didn't sleep with you."

Paris rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean't."

Rory nodded. "But we're not really spring break people," she said with a wince. "Going to Flordia didn't change that, and going to New York won't be any different. Except, you know, we could get mugged, or raped, or killed... why exactly are we going to New York?"

"Hey it's not like we're going to the ghetto, Rory. We'll be fine. Just keep a can of pepper spray in your purse, and a switch blade in your shoe at all times, and you'll be fine."

"A switch blade in my shoe? Do I look like Kate Beckinsale?"

Paris frowned. "Really? Your referencing Underworld?"

Rory shrugged and said, "I was actually going for Van Helsing, but that works too."

"That movie sucked. And then they actually had the balls to make another one," Paris complained.

"It was okay."

"Okay?" Paris scoffed, like the thought was completely ridiculous. "Because there aren't enough vampire-werewolf movies out there. And she was in three of them. What has she gone themed or something?"

"Okay, we're not gonna argue about Kate Beckinsale and whether she's gone themed or not," Rory said, putting a stop to the silly conversation before it could go much further.

"We're going to New York," Paris said firmly. "This is our last year in college. We need to get things outta the way. We need to finish the list, so there are no holes when we graduate," she explained.

"Fine," Rory gave in," but no more make out sessions," she warned.

_Diner_

"You know, it doesn't count if you eat it with a fork and knife," Lorelai warned her mother as Luke put four plates down on the table. All of them, with the exception of Luke, were having the same thing. The man was set on sticking with his turkey burger and salad.

Emily rolled her eyes, and said, "I know how to eat a hamburger, Lorelai."

"Yes, you know the fancy, rich way to eat a hamburger, but do you know the boring, peasant way?" she asked with a grin.

Emily sighed. "Luke, your wife," she pleaded.

"She's annoying, sorry," Luke apologized with a shrug as he took a seat between Lorelai and April.

"Hey!" Lorelai exclaimed.

Luke turned to grin at her and Lorelai stuck her tongue out in response. Aaden then let out a squeal, wanting attention as he sent his toy flying from the stroller.

"Seems your mini me wants some love," Lorelai said while jerking her chin at the baby.

Luke turned to smile at his squirming son. "Hey, buddy," he said while plucking the boy and settling him agianst his chest.

"Hi, daddy," Lorelai said in a high pitched baby voice. Luke turned to glare at her. "Well someone has to speak for him," she said with as shrug before reaching to pop a fry into her mouth.

"So, April, I hear you're on break from school," Emily segued.

"Yes," the girl confirmed with a smile.

"And you'll be entering highschool in the fall, correct?" she asked.

"Woodbridge High," April confirmed before eating a fry.

"You know you're a very bright girl," the older woman complimented. Luke smiled.

"Thank you."

"You remind me of Rory at her age. And she went to Chilton. It's one of the best schools in the country, you know. And you've seen what happened to Rory."

April nodded and said, "Yeah. I've got my sites on Harvard."

"You should apply to Chilton," Emily suggested.

"Oh, well," April stammered as her eyes fell to the table. "You know, it's really expensive, and mom and I can't really afford a school like that. But my school is fine," she dismissed quickly.

Luke blinked up at her. "You want to go to Chilton?"

"No, no," April disagreed while shaking her head.

"You know I would help your mom. Why didn't you tell me you wanted to go Chilton?"

The girl sighed. She put her fork down on her plate and looked up at her dad. "I can't go to Chilton," she said, her voice quiet.

Luke shook his head. "April, money is not an issue. I can help your mom," he said firmly.

"Yeah, sweetie, Luke and I can help. Your little brother here sure does cost a pretty penny to maintain, but we have money to help if you want to go to Chilton," she offered.

"It's not about the money; I just can't go... mom and I might be moving," she confessed.

"What?" Luke asked, confused.

"Grandma is sick. Really sick. Mom says we need to be with her in Mexico. She needs to take care of grandma," the girl explained with a fallen face. "I wasn't supposed to tell you. Mom wanted to talk to you."

"Oh."

There was a moment of silence before Luke turned to Lorelai and asked, "You want pie? I have pie."

She looked down at her full plate. "Oh, uh, sure."

Luke nodded. He quickly, but carefully, handed Aaden over to his wife, then swung his leg over the chair to get up. Tears bubbled in the baby's eyes as he watched his daddy go.

"Hey, hey it's okay," Lorelai soothed as she turned the boy over, who then immediately went to nuzzle her neck. His curious little hands found his mommy's necklace and playing with the chain seemed to calm him as his worried mommy had her concern clouded eyes on his daddy, while the man moved back and forth behind the counter.

_Later_

_Nardini House_

"So that's it? You're just gonna pick up and move to Mexico? I don't get a say in this?"

"I don't have a choice, Luke," Anna explained shortly from behind the counter where she was stocking some new merchandise.

"And what about school? You're going to make April switch school's when she's only got a few months left?" Luke asked, desperately trying to find something to change the woman's mind.

"Luke, I'm not having this out with you," she warned. "My mother's sick, and April understands that I have to be there. There is no choice here, so just let it go."

Luke sighed as his hands fell from hips. "I can take her," he offered.

"What?"

"She can live with me while you go take care of your mom. This way, she can stay in school. She can be with friends, and she won't have to move."

Anna shook her head. "You're not taking her, Luke. Keeping her for months wasn't part of the agreement. So don't you even mention that to April."

"You shipping her off to Mexico for God knows how long also wasn't part of the agreement," he pointed out, his tone not so neutral anymore.

Anna's brows arched. "What? You're going to try and fight me on this?"

"If you think I'm just gonna sit back and be okay with this, you're wrong," he warned.

Anna shrugged. "She's my daughter, Luke. I've been taking care of her for fourteen years; you've known her for five minutes. So go ahead, fight me. Take me to court. You'll lose," she promised. "And then I'll get full custody, and you'll get nothing," she said before disappearing upstairs. Luke sighed.

_XXX_

_Stars Hollow_

_Patty's_

"So he's there now?" Sookie asked in a whisper as Taylor was up by the podium, babbling on and on about God knows what.

"Yeah," Lorelai confirmed as she rubbed her hand over her baby's belly, who was lying against her, his little head resting on the valley between her breasts as he sucked on his pacifier. "I wanted to go with him, you know? But he said he knows how punchy Anna can get and he didn't want me there, getting caught in the line of fire."

"Wow," Sookie awed. "So you think they'll work things out okay?"

Lorelai sighed. "I don't know," she said worriedly. She then turned her attention to Taylor, who was just segueing into a new subject.

"And now I would like to take this time to address everyone's concerns over this year's progroess of the spring fling festival. I want to assure everyone that things are going exactly as planned," the man said with a convincing nod and smile.

"But what about our booths?! Babette screeched. "We don't have our booths!"

Taylor waved her off and said, "Everything is under control. Take for instance the hale bale maze. Although things got off to a shaky start, the hay has finally made its way to Stars Hollow, and is being unloaded as we speak."

"How much hay we talking here, Taylor?" Morey asked.

"We've been over this, town folk. It will cover the whole square," he said with a big smile.

"The whole square?" Jackson asked. "You didn't say the whole square. You said the east side would be open."

"Oh, I'm gonna have one cranky hubby tonight," Lorelai whispered. Sookie giggled.

"Would everyone please take a handfull of chill pills?" Taylor suggested.

"Where the hell is my damn lemonade booth gonna go!?" Gypsy demanded.

Taylor shook his head. "You don't need to worry about your lemonade booth."

"Why not? The festival is on Satruday, and I have to start squeezing my lemons, and I don't have my equipment, or my booth," she argued.

"You don't have to worry about that because that money went towards the hale bale maze."

"Oh no, don't tell me he-"

"I spent the entire budget on the hale bale maze."

"No!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Yes," he said with an eager nod.

"Taylor, I have an Inn full of guests who have traveled miles, withstood winter, who blow dried their tongues from their swing sets so they could get to the spring fling. They expect things, the traditional events- pie eating contests, pony rides. They don't want just a hay bale maze, and nothing else."

Taylor sighed. "You people clearly don't understand the long, and rich history of maze's. Ladies, and gentlement of Stars Hollow, perhaps this will help," he announced while pulling the sheet from a man who had been standing next to him.

"Oh my God!" Sookie gasped.

"What the hell is that?" Lorelai asked as she rocked Aaden back and forth, who was fussying from all the commotion.

"I am the minotaur!" Kirk announced.

"Wow," Lorelai awed. "And you know what's weird? He's been in that head under that velvet cloth the whole time."

_Later_

_Danes Home_

Luke trudged his way up the stairs, his boots banging agianst the wood as the wheels were turning in his head, and the alcohol pumping through his veins.

"Damn it," he cursed after triping over the stairs and falling forward. He took a moment to shake it off, then finished the stairs slowly, and carefully.

Luke peaked into his son's dark room, and frowned when he saw Aaden lying fast asleep in his crib, the baby's mobile playing as he was tucked safely away in dreamland.

Lorelai looked up from the magazine she was reading when she heard the faimliar sound coming up the stairs. She slid from the bed, pushed her feet into her pink, fuzzy slippers, then shuffled to the door.

Lorelai propped the door open to leave, but stopped when she saw Luke peaking into his son's room. Quietly, she backed away to give father and son their moment, but she couldn't help waiting impatiently for him to finish.

A moment later, Lorelai's head shot up from the spot on the rug she had been staring at.

"Hey," he said tiredly while walking past her and falling down on the bed.

Lorelai frowned. She turned to look at his sprawled out body and quickly sat down next to him. "You were gone a while," she said while picking at the blanket.

"I called," he pointed out as his eyes fell closed. His head was pounding from the beer.

Lorelai nodded. "What happened with Anna?" she asked, though she assumed hours ago, when he called saying that he would be out for a while, that things didn't go so smoothly.

Luke shrugged as his head rolled to look at her. "Need a lawyer."

Lorelai's brows furrowed as she said, "What?"

"She's leaving. She doesn't care. She's gonna go. She don't care," he repeated, his body a little drunk as his eyes fluttered open and closed.

Lorelai's face fell further. She looked down at her broken man and couldn't help but feel sad. She never told him, but she had a suspicion that this day would ome. She was just waiting. And of course, she would be right there, fighting with him. She loved that little girl, too.

Lorelai leaned over, swinging her leg over Luke's chest, and easing down on his stomach.

"What you doing?" Luke asked, as his eyes peeped open.

"Shh, go to sleep," Lorelai soothed while leaning over to unbutton his shirt.

Luke's head shook back and forth slowly as he said, "she's going away.. far, far away."

"No, she's not," Lorelai assured him as she worked through the buttons.

Luke nodded. "She's going away."

Lorelai parted the flannel and like she was undressing Aaden, she pulled his arms free from the sleeves, leaving just his undershirt. Shen then slithered down his body to free him of his jeans.

"Lorelai," Luke murmured as his body was slipping into unconsciousness.

"Yeah, babe?" she asked softly while plucking a throw from the chair, near the window.

"Don go'way," he begged groggily.

Lorelai smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I won't," she said while spreading the blanekt across his body. She then crawled into bed and cuddled up next to him. "No one is," she assured him, praying that his daughter wouldn't leave. That they could stop it.

Luke rolled to the side a bit, just enough to find Lorelai's waist and pull her closer. "Love you," he breathed, just barely loud enough for Lorelai to hear.

"Love you, too," she said while holding his face in her hand, and swaying her thumb back and forth across his scruffy cheek, trying to lull him to sleep.

"How could anyone not want you to be a daddy," she whispered after her husband was sleeping. She just hoped it was a peaceful slumber.

_Next Day_

Lorelai frowned when she woke up early Friday morning to find the bed beside her empty. Her son's hungry cries leaked in through the monitor as the early morning sun worked hard to brighten the sky.

The confused mom rubbed her hand over her eyes until she could see that it was just shy of seven in the morning. She couldn't even remember Luke getting ready for work. She could almost always feel the bed shift as he got up, hear the water running through the pipes as he showered, feel the good morning kiss he left on her forehead. His lips always left her skin tingling. But this morning, none of that. Thought the shower, maybe, she thought. After searching her groggy memory, Lorelai realized that she may have heard him turn the water on, but it was early. Very early.

Aaden's cries went up a notch or two, breaking Lorelai from her daze, and quickly she swuing her legs over the bed to get to her hungry baby. Although she couldn't help but wonder how he was hungry. Usually, Luke took care of the early morning shift and she would feed him again around eight or nine, before her mother would come to take care of the boy while she was at work.

"I'm coming, my little ranter in training."

And so the day began. Lorelai fed her hungry baby, and then gave him a bath afterwards. The kitchen was filled with smiles and coos as Lorelai washed Aaden's cute little body. Once he was all squeaky clean, she put him in his swing, switched on some cartoons, then hurried to jump in the shower. Just as she was doing her makeup, her mother arrived. And in the nick of time too. Aaden was growing tired of the swing, and he was thankful when his grandmother scoped him. Lorelai smiled from the sink, and dabbed on some lip gloss before dashing from the room.

Lunch couldn't come fast enough. Lorelai had been worrying about Luke all day. She hadn't had time to stop by the diner in the morning, and the few times she had tried to call, the line was always busy.

"Damn it, Luke, call waiting," she cursed while hanging up the phone.

"Someone's in a mood," Michel noticed as he fiddled around on the computer.

"Someone needs to mind his own business," Lorelai retorded. "I'm going to Luke's. Be back later."

The place was packed, as it always was this time of day, but Lorelai was able to pick out Luke the second she walked through the door. He was standing behind the counter, yelling at someone on the phone. Her face fell at the site as she made her way to the counter to claim the only empty seat.

Lorelai was ready to wait patiently for Luke to finish up his call and say hi to her, but Casear popped out from the kitchen, ready with her usual cofee, and before she could put her order in, she decided against it. Instead, she took her coffee to go, leaving her stool open for another customer who had just walked in.

The hours ticked by, and son it was that time again. Friday night dinner. This week it was at the Gilmore's.

"That's great, babe," Lorelai said with a small smile. "I'm glad you're having a good time."

"Yeah," Rory agreed with a bright smile. "So what's going on there?" she asked.

Lorelai sighed as she picked a pair of earrings from her jewerly box. "Oh, you know, same old. Hay is taking over the town, Kirk's thinking about retiring, and Luke's getting a lawyer. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Rory's brows furrowed. "A lawyer? Are you two getting a divorce? Because I have to tell you, I might want to live with daddy. He can cook," she said with a grin.

Lorelai laughed. "No, no, there's just some stuff going on with April. Anna's mom is sick or something, and she's planning to move to Mexico to take care of her."

"Oh. So he's trying to get joint custody or something?"

"Yeah. I'll explain more later, but I gotta go, sweets. Dinner with your grandparents tonight."

"Right. Okay, call you later."

"Bye, hon."

Luke managed to come home with just enough time to change, and as soon as he was dressed, they were out the door.

During the car ride there, Lorelai asked Luke about his day, and he went on to rant about the evil lawyers. He complained about the few that he had talked to, and that they all said that he didn't really have a chance in hell. Though their wording was a bit kinder than that.

Lorelai turned to frown at him as she took his free hand in both of hers and rested them on her lap as he drove them to her parent's house.

Not a word was mentioned about the situation during dinner. Loerlai didn't want to bring the sore subject up, and Luke didn't want to get into it again. Lucky for them though, they had a cute baby boy with them, who managed to distract his adoring grandparents just fine.

They got home just before ten, and the little boy, who was nothing short of smiles and laughs all night, had finally decided that it was time for a good rant. His complaints filled the house as they walked through the front door.

"He probably just wants a little snack before bed," Lorelai said. "You go on up; I'll be there in a minute."

"You sure?" Luke asked.

Lorelai nodded and said, "yeah." It was right there, in his eyes, the long day he had had.

Luke nodded while managing to crack a small smile. He kissed Lorelai's cheek, then looked down to leave one on his son's forehead.

"Sorry, bud," he apologized. "But mommy's got some milk for you. No more crying," he tried.

Lorelai smiled. "Go on up, babe; we'll be fine," she said while taking her jacket off.

And with that, Luke dragged himself up the stairs. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

The next day, Lorelai found herself with a crowd of eager tourits wanting to experience the giant hale bale maze for themselves. And Pete, the guy Lorelai had hired as their tour guide, was nowhere to be found.

"No, no, no, I am not parading these idiots through giant stacks of hay," Michel refused.

"You really put the "team," in teamwork, don't you," Lorelai said sarcastically.

"It is not my job to be a tour guide. I answer phones, I book reservations, and I tell old ladies where they can find antiques. That's it," he said before turning on his heel to the kitchen. It was time for his plain, low fat, half a muffin.

Lorelai sighed, but managed to pull a bright, welcoming smile before facing her guests.

"Okay, is everyone ready to go?"

"Yes!" the small crowd shouted, a good portion of them children, who were ready for the fun.

"Great, well let's go then."

They walked to the square, Lorelai going on and on about the town, trying to be the pefect tour guide, and then in no time, they arrived at the maze. She ushered everyone to the entrance, telling them to take their time and enjoy, before Lorelai went on to spend a good ten minutes just trying to find her way to the diner.

When she finally got there, the place was empty. All but Casear was left, the man busy wiping down the counter. Lorelai asked him where the man in charage was, and he pointed upstairs. She gave him a thank you smile before heading up.

"Luke," she called carefully while tapping on the glass.

"Yeah?" he called back.

Lorelai propped the door open further, and offered him a smile while walking further into the room and sitting down across from him. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Lawyer stuff?" she asked while jerking her chin at the mess of papers.

Luke nodded. "Finally used that stupid fax line you made me put in."

Lorelai smiled and asked, "so you find someone yet?"

"Yeah. He doesn't have much faith in me, either, but he seemed to have a little more than the rest of the idiot lawyers," Luke grumped.

"Anything I can do?" Loerlai asked, wanting to help.

"Acutally yeah, Luke realized. "I need you to write a letter to the judge. A character reference. The lawyer said it may help," he said with as shrug. "You know, you just need to say that I can do this. That we can do this," he corrected. "That I can handle joint custody, and all that."

"Of course," Lorelai agreed.

"I asked Liz, too, but God knows that she won't help much."

Lorelai grinned and said," I'll do it tonight, as soon as I get home.

"Okay." Luke nodded. "Okay," he sighed. He looked up from the table and his face fell at Lorelai's hopeful eyes and easy smile. Wordlessly, he stoppd up and held his arms open. Lorelai quickly reached to hug her arms around his back while burying her face in his chest.

"I'll be better tomorrow" he promised. "I won't ruin it for Aaden."

Lorelai smiled as her eyes fell closed. "We'll get through this, babe. I promise, we'll get through this."

Later that day, Lorelai managed to arrive home early after noon. She thanked her mother for coming. then headed upstairs to lay down in bed with her sleepy son. The boy drifted off to sleep next to his mommy while Lorelai had her pen poised over paper, trying to figure out what to write. She had never done something like this before. She wasn't exactly sure what to say. She was so afraid of writing the wrong thing. That that wrong thing could sway the judge in the wrong direction.

But then she realized that there was no wrong thing. Luke was a great dad. He was there for Rory from the start, doing things that he never had to do. He's been there for Lorelai for so many years, and now he was here for Aaden, being a daddy that the boy would be proud to call his own. He deserved April. He deservedto see her, to be her daddy, too.

And from there, Lorelai couldn't stop the pen from flying across the paper if she tried.

The next morning was hectic, just as it should be. Close family, and of course, the Godparents, were all gathered at the Danes home before the ceremony. Sookie, Rory, and Liz all dressed little baby Aaden while T.J was sent off to get the camera's ready. The distraction thought up by Luke, so the man wouldn't interfere with the dressing. Then soon after, pictures were taken and everyone headed to the church.

When they arrived, Luke blew out a sigh of relief when he found his daughter waiting on the church steps for him. Anna had called the day before, making up some excuse that she needed April's help around the store and that the girl wouldn't be able to visit for the maze. The woman also threw in that mother and daughter had plans to make today for the move, and April would only be able to attend the ceremony. Not the after party. Right now, Luke would take what he could get.

The baptism went off without a hitch. The three Godparents all took turns holding Aaden, and after the holy water was spilled over his little head, the celebration when on to continue in the square, where food and music was all set to go.

The party lasted for hours, and after a long, but good day, the tired parents arrrived home just after seven. Lorelai thanked Luke for a wonderful day, and that he was able to put his worries aside for his son. The man really seemed to enoy the day, and Lorelai was glad to see a smile on his face.

Luke waved her off and urged her to go up and take a bubble bath. Relax. He offered to entertain Aaden for the rest of the night, and said that they had some male bonding to do.

Lorelai kissed her boys before hurrying upstairs to soak in the tub.

The two Danes men headed upstairs to catch some sports highlights when something on the bed caught Luke's eye. Curiously, he picked up the folded piece of paper and immediately recongized the writing to be Lorelai's.

"_To whom it may concern,_

_In the ten years that I have known Luke Danes, I have come to know him as an honest, and decent man. He's also one of the most kind, and caring persons I have ever met. He's my best friend, my husband, a huge part of my world, and a good part of my heart. _

_I was a single mother for so many years. I raised my daughter by myself, but once Luke Danes became my friend in this town, I never really felt alone. Luke and I have had our ups and downs over the years, but through it all, his relationship with my daughter, Rory, has never changed. He's always been there for her no matter what. He was there to celebtrate her brithdays. He was there, beating up her frist boyfriend when the teen broke her heart. He was there cheering her on at her high school graduation. Luke has been a father figure in my daugher's life. And with his own son, Aaden, he's been just amazing. Luke and I had a baby in January, and that little boy has him wrapped around his finger. And the best part about it all is that Luke doesn't treat either of them differently. He treats them both like they're his own kids, and while I wish that Luke was Rory's biological father, that doesn't really matter. He's her father in all the ways that count. He's her dad. And with his other daughter, April, Luke wasn't given the opportunity to be there for her first twelve years, but he should be given that chance now. He's been so great with her, and I'm here, witnessing it every weekend. He deserves a chance. _

_Once Luke Danes is in your life, he is in your life forever."_

Luke stood motionless for a moment as his eyes swept over the letter again. He was at a loss for words.

Lorelai was in the tub, spreading bubbles over her arms when she looked up to find Luke opening the door.

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

Lorelai's lips spread into a big smile at the letter dangling from his fingers and she said, "you're welcome."

_To be continued..._

**Please Review!!!**


	20. Here Comes the Graduate Twice

**Author's Note-**

**And we're almost done, everyone! One more chapter to go and this baby is finished! But worry not, there will be a sequel in the future, : D And I want to thank everyone for your reviews! They rock! **

**Oh, and a little warning. Part of this chapter is M-ish, so beware. **

**Anyway, on with the show!**

**A Baby Changes Everything: **

**Chapter 20: Here Comes the Graduate. Twice.**

_Late May_

_Diner_

"Who's the prettiest boy? You're the prettiest boy! Yeah, you know you rock," Lorelai said with a big smile as Aaden was in the midst of a laughing spree.

"He's not pretty," Luke grumped from behind the counter.

Lorelai gasped. "Of course he's pretty!" she defended her son. "He's the prettiest baby to ever live!"

Luke sighed. "If you don't want him to end up like Kirk, stop calling him pretty," Luke growled. "Boys aren't pretty."

"Hey!" the man in question called with a frown from the counter.

"Gimme that baby!" Babette screeched from a table by the window.

"Oh, your public awaits," Lorelai cooed with a grin as she bent to scoop the boy from his stroller. As she lifted him to her shoulder, she pulled down his 'Little Sluger' T-shirt and adjusted his shorts so they weren't twisted around his chubby little legs. "You wanna hang with Babette?" she asked the boy while smoothing his hair that seemed to be getting lighter and lighter with each passing day.

"Lemme see that precious boy," the woman said with a big smile while holding her arms out for him.

Lorelai pressed a kiss to her baby's light brown hair before easing him into her neighbor's arms.

"I'll take him back in a minute, he needs a bottle."

"Oh, sugah, I'll feed him," she waved the woman off while smiling at the boy. "So is Rory excited?" she asked while bouncing the boy in her arms and earning a laugh.

Lorelai nodded, her gaze on Aaden. "Over the moon, excited."

"I can't believe she's done. I still got memories of her as a little girl running around in my head."

Lorelai nodded. "Me too," she murmured, thinking back to years and years ago when her baby was a toddler, wobbling around the lake at the Inn, haphazardly throwing pieces of bread in the water for the ducks.

"Oh, good, you're here," Patty's voice broke the daze as she walked in. "What time are we supposed to be there tomorrow, dear?"

"Where?"

"Yale."

"Oh, yeah, hon, I need directions, 'cause Morey Map quested it, but the campus is huge!" she boosted, her booming voice scaring Aaden as his eyes clouded over.

"Oops," Lorelai said while pulling out a toy from his bag. "Babette didn't mean to scare you, baby. Here, play with this," she said in a soothing voice, the boy still not all that fond of loud, sudden noises.

"Oh, sorry, sugah," Babette apologized while holding his toy for him, waving it back and forth so it made noise, which turned the situation around, Aaden's lips turning as he reached for it.

"I didn't know you guys all wanted to come," Lorelai said with a frown.

"Of course we do," Patty said while taking a seat next to Babette to make faces at Aaden.

"We wouldn't miss our little girl's graduation."

Lorelai nodded. "I'll call Rory, see if she can get more tickets," she said while reaching for her purse.

"Nope. Outside," Luke stopped her while coming around the counter with a plate in each hand.

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at his moving body. "If you kick the bucket and I get this place, I'm banning the 'no cell phone' rule," she warned while heading for the door.

Luke shook his head. "I'll bet anything I outlive you."

"Yeah?" she challenged. "What if I decide to go all health crazy like you are?"

"Too late," Luke said with a shake of the head.

"He's right," Kirk chimed in from the counter. "You'd need to drink _a lot_ of water to unclog _those_ arteries. Oh, and you should take a Bayer aspirin, I hear those thin the blood."

"They do!" Babette threw in.

"I could smother him with a pillow tonight and none of you would ever see him again," Lorelai warned darkly before opening the door.

"Ask her how long the ceremony is, 'cause I gotta plan my snacks!" Babette called after the woman.

Lorelai held the door open behind her for a customer who was coming in while pressing her cell to her ear.

"Mom! Good! I was gonna call you! You're not gonna believe it!" Rory exclaimed into the phone.

"Believe what?" she asked curiously.

"Milan Kundera is speaking at graduation!"

"Aw, not Clooney?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's coming too and he's bringing Letterman with him," Rory teased, knowing her mom was crushing on both men.

Lorelai giggled. "So hey, question. Do you think you can score more graduation tickets? Seems the whole town of Stars Hollow wants to see you in a cap and gown."

"Oh, that's sweet, but we only get four, and people have been trying to get extra ones since September. I was lucky I could get one for Luke."

Lorelai's face fell as she turned back to the diner. "Oh, no. Anything on the black market?"

"No, I think we're probably priced out of that."

"All right, well, you do know the house is gonna get egged," she warned.

"I'll help you scrub it when I get home," Rory promised. "So are you nervous?"

"About what?"

"Seeing dad."

Lorelai sighed. "Yeah, a little. But I think it will be fine. I mean I don't hate him or anything, I just wish he would stop trying to get me dumped," she said with a bitter laugh. "But, you know, your dad's your dad… it'll be fine," she said with conviction.

"Yeah," Rory agreed. "Well I gotta go, mom, I'm helping Paris spackle her place. She's fully prepared to take Doyle to court if she doesn't get her deposit back."

"Wow, turning on the boyfriend," Lorelai awed. "Nothing stops her, huh?"

"Not even a twister."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, spackle well, or whatever one says to encourage a successful spackle."

"Have a good spackle?"

"Spackle on."

"Break a spackle?"

"Knock on spackle if things work out."

"All of the above," Rory said with a nod. "Bye, mom, give Aaden a kiss for me."

"I will. Oh, and tell Paris I said hi."

"Will do."

Lorelai flipped her phone closed, sighing as she tucked it to her chin while wondering how this graduation thing was going to work out. With the town wanting to come and Chris … it was going to a long day, that she was sure of.

_Later_

_Town meeting_

"And now to discuss the issue of Rory Gilmore's graduation," Taylor announced, moving on from the last topic, the town having decided that Kirk could hang up in a box for the rest of his life if he wanted.

"Whoa, what? What issue?" Lorelai demanded while bouncing Aaden on her lap as she held a teething ring in his mouth.

Taylor shrugged. "You dropped the ball, Lorelai, and now we have a problem. There aren't enough tickets for everyone."

"Hey, nut jobs, you really think you all could come anyway?" Luke piped in. "There isn't a circus tent big enough…" he trailed.

Lorelai pinched Luke's knee in warning. "They get four per kid, Taylor, that's how it works. We almost couldn't get one for Luke. What could I do? I tried."

Taylor waved her off. "Were there no orphans, no children of divorce? Are you telling me that every single student at Yale has at least four people coming to see him or her graduate?" he challenged.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay, but you'll all get a change to congratulate her tomorrow at my house. You know, at the party," she reminded them.

Babette frowned. "But it's not the same thing," she protested. "We've all known the kid since she was little. We want to see that special moment when she gets handed her diploma."

Lorelai's face fell as Luke reached to take Aaden, the boy getting fussy for his evening bottle. "I got him," he said while reaching in the diaper bag for a bottle. Thankfully, the boy didn't mind if the bottle was warmed or not, Lorelai pumping more than often so she and Luke could both feed the baby.

"I'm really sorry, guys," Lorelai apologized. "I mean, maybe I could hand her the diploma again, you know, at the party," she suggested with a helpless shrug.

"You would do that?" Patty asked with a growing smile.

"Of course."

"Well what about the music?" Gypsy threw in. "You can't have the pomp without the circumstance."

"That's an easy one to solve. The Stars Hollow high school hand will play. It will be a wonderful dress rehearsal for their own ceremony in two weeks," Taylor said with a smile.

The crowd cheered.

"Whoa, hey, I know I pulled a Jeffersons' and everything, but I don't think my house is big enough to fit the whole band inside, plus everyone else," she said with a wince.

Taylor shook his head. "Absolutely not-your house is not zoned for gatherings larger than 30 people. We'll do it in the town square. Or your yard. You have a big yard," he realized.

"Nope." Luke said.

"The square is fine," Lorelai said with a sigh.

"The square is not fine. She's not graduating twice, you'll all just have to deal with pictures," Luke said as his son sucked away.

"Oh, pictures, take lots of pictures!" Babette boosted. "We can blow them up for the re-enactment!" she said, ignoring Luke.

"Oh, that sounds," Lorelai tried to stop them.

"Lulu can play Rory. She's a terrific actress," Kirk said. "And she's got brown hair and blue eyes, just like Rory," he said with a nod.

"We're moving," Luke growled.

"I would suggest taking a notebook along. Attention to detail is very important in re-enactments," Taylor said seriously.

"Does she get to keep the cap and gown? Cause that would help," Andrew said.

"Lulu should fit Rory's gown," Kirk said with a nod.

Lorelai whimpered while Luke was about ready to throw a chair at someone.

_Later_

"On the one hand, it's sweet,"

"On the other, it's crazy," Luke finished for as they walked home, Luke pushing their dozing son who was lying in his stroller.

Lorelai sighed as she looked down at her baby boy, Aaden's head turned to the right as his thumb ly lazily in his slightly parted mouth. She couldn't help but reach over and run her fingers over his cheek.

"Only our town," she murmured.

"I was serious about moving," Luke said.

Lorelai smiled. "Never."

_Paris and Doyle's Apartment_

"We're graduating tomorrow," Rory awed as the two sat side by side, their backs leaning against the wall, having just finished spackling. "Can you believe it? I can't believe it. I can't wrap my head around it."

"Oh, God, you're not gonna start getting sentimental already, are you?"

Rory frowned. "That wasn't sentimental. That was incredulous. I'm allowed to be incredulous. I mean can you believe it?" she challenged.

"Ah yeah, I can, actually. I checked outta this place the second I got into Harvard. God, I never get tired of saying that," she said with a smile.

"Well, I can't believe it, and I intend to savor every moment of it," Rory said primly.

"Well, savor away, just don't voice your savoring."

"Oh, shush, I'm allowed to savor on my last day of college. Now smile, please," Rory requested while reaching over for her camera.

"Hey, I thought I said no cameras today," Paris warned.

"Oh, that annoyed face, hold that," Rory said before snapping the picture.

"Never again," Paris said with a shake of her head.

_Danes Home_

"You good with him?" Luke asked quietly as they walked through the door, Lorelai holding her sleeping son to her chest.

She nodded. "I'll bring him up. "

"Okay," Luke said with a nod. "I'll lock up. Meet you upstairs."

Lorelai nodded. She turned, offering Aaden's head to his father and Luke dropped a kiss to his son's forehead before turning to the door while Lorelai went for the stairs.

She climbed the steps slowly, her arms clamped around her baby boy in a tight hold as she pressed little kisses to the top of his head.

"I love you, angel," she murmured while turning to the nursery.

Lorelai flipped on the teddy bear night light, and then put the snoozy boy down on his changing table, easing his small body down slowly, so he wouldn't wake.

It was hot, a warm spring night that felt like a summer one, so she carefully eased his denim shorts down his legs, but left his T-shirt on over the weensy he was wearing, knowing that trying to pull the shirt over his head would only wake him. Normally, she would at least get a pair of P.J pants on him, but it was too hot for that, especially in Aaden's room. His seemed to the warmest in the house.

Lorelai lifted him carefully, holding her baby to her chest as she rocked her way to his crib, trying to prevent him from stirring, but knowing that he would.

Lorelai looked down at her boy who just looked so much like his daddy and couldn't help but feel sad. It all went so fast with Rory, so fast, and she knew it would zoom by just as quick, if not faster, with Aaden. He would be all grown up one day, about to graduate from college, just like her first baby would do tomorrow. She would put on that cap and gown, line up with her class, take that walk up to the podium and except her diploma. Over twenty years in the past. Just like that. With a snap of the fingers. So fast.

"Wow," Lorelai awed in a whisper, her eyes locked on Aaden. "Do me a favor and don't grow up too fast, okay?" she asked in a low voice. "Mommy needs you."

The boy sighed, almost like he heard and understood her before burying his face in her chest.

Lorelai smiled. "I get it, you wanna hit the sac," she whispered before turning to the crib and easing his body over the lowered rail. She put him down gently, and then slid her hand to his belly, rocking him so he wouldn't wake.

She kept up the motion for a few minutes before he seemed to fall into a deep sleep. When he was out for the night, she pressed a kiss to his check, and then lifted the rail into place.

"Night, baby boy," she whispered before stealing from the room.

Lorelai sighed as she walked through her bedroom. She headed straight for her bed and fell down on her back. Her arms folded over her belly as she looked up at the ceiling.

Luke headed up the stairs two at time, ready to go sleep and end the day, but wishing he could find the rewind button. He could still see Rory in little fairy wings, going door to door, asking everyone to come to her caterpillar's funeral. Where had the time gone? He wasn't sure.

When he reached the bedroom, he smiled at Lorelai.

"Hey," he called from the doorway, jarring his wife from her thoughts.

She looked up at him and managed a small smile. "Hey."

He left the door, leaving it open just a crack, not comfortable with closing it all the way with their son down the hall. He then headed for his dresser to grab a pair of sweats to change into for after his shower. Luke learned the hard way that trying to shower in the morning was just impossible. Not with Lorelai tying up the bathroom in the A.M. So he usually showered at night- that is, unless he worked the next morning, then he was up before Lorelai so it wasn't a problem.

"Luke," Lorelai called.

He turned, his grey sweats in hand as he looked at her.

Lorelai held her arms out, her lips pouting at him as she wiggled her fingers.

Luke grinned. He tossed the sweats into the open bathroom and pounced on the bed, making Lorelai giggle as she tried to roll away from him.

"Gotcha," he whispered while looming over her, his legs on either side of hers.

Lorelai smiled. She lifted her head up to kiss him, and then fell back to the pillow.

"That's all you got?" he challenged with a smirk.

Lorelai's smile grew as she leaned up on her arms to capture his lips with hers, her teeth tugging playfully at Luke's bottom lip

Luke growled in his throat and Lorelai released him, throwing her head back as she laughed, which just melted Luke's heart. He lived for that laugh, for her smile. He just liked to see her happy.

"Hey," he whispered, his voice low and dangerous.

Lorelai fell back against the pillow dramatically as a smile played on her lips.

"Can I shower now?" he asked.

Lorelai shook her head and quickly reached to hook her arms around his back. "Shower tomorrow. I got something better you can do," she said while lifting her hips suggestively.

Luke looked down, a big smile on his face. "What?"

"Me," she said simply.

And Luke did just that. It was nothing wild, nothing crazy, just the two of them sharing something special. They moved to a song only they could hear, Lorelai keeping a tight hold around Luke as he thrust into her over and over again, taking her higher and higher. The man kept his focus on her, pressing kisses along her face as she came, being in complete and total aw while her watching her climax. He loved to be the one to make her feel that, to take her there. He was amazed by it. And it spurred his own coming, a groan coming from the back of his throat as he came inside of her.

Lorelai's chest heaved, her breast touching the bare skin of Luke's chest as she tried to catch her breath.

Luke was right there with her, the man trying to fill his lungs with air as he worked to keep his arms from buckling.

"Come here," Lorelai managed between pants as she settled back on her pillow.

Luke shook his head, not wanting to crush her. He rolled over next to her, immediately moving to his side and pulling her naked body flush against his.

Lorelai flopped over, burying her face in his chest as her eyes fluttered closed.

"Big day tomorrow," she murmured against him.

Luke sighed as he looked down to drop a kiss to her hair. "Yeah," he agreed.

"Really big day," she said thoughtfully, her voice sad.

"Good day," Luke reminded her.

Lorelai nodded as she reached to smooth her hand over his chest, swaying her fingers through his hair.

And silence fell, Luke leaving Lorelai to her thoughts even he knew it was dangerous, but also knowing that it was needed. So he held her tight, his hand cupping her face, this thumb sweeping against her creamy skin as silent tears boiled in her eyes, clouding her blue orbs.

When the first one fell, Luke caught the salty tear with his thumb and wiped it away as he frowned at his wife. He knew there was nothing he could say to make it better, no words would change the fact that her daughter was graduating college tomorrow. That her daughter would possibly be leaving for months on end, the girl having been offered a big job opportunity that would send her away just after Mia's wedding in June. Big things were happening. Very big things.

"Hey, "he whispered with a smile while finding her eyes. "That half birthday you were talking about? The biggest blow out you want. We'll even get him his own cake that he won't be able to eat," Luke said with a smirk and Lorelai couldn't help but smile before turning to burying her face in his chest.

"Ice cream cake, the biggest one you can find," she said, her voice muffled.

Luke laughed. "You got it," he promised her.

_Next Morning_

"We are soooo late," Lorelai complained while turning around; motioning for Luke to zip up her new pretty pink v-neck wrap dress. Almost five months after popping her son out and finally she was one hundred percent completely back to her pre-pregnancy weight.

"You kept hitting snooze," Luke grumbled while sliding the zipper up her back.

"Do you like my face?" Lorelai asked while turning to look at him.

"No, I hate it, "Luke shot back sarcastically.

"If you like the pretty, then you'll let me get my eight hours."

Luke rolled his eyes.

"Mmmmma!" Aaden squealed from the pack n play, demanding some attention.

Both parents turned to grin at the boy.

"You excited, baby? Your sister's graduating Yale today! Yay!" Lorelai exclaimed while leaning over the pen and holding her arms out.

Aaden's face lit up and he got a little ahead of himself, his arms falling from underneath him, sending his face into the mat.

"Aw, baby," Lorelai cooed with a sympathetic smile as she quickly swooped him up to try and prevent the frustrated cries from coming.

"You don't have time to change," Luke warned her.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You're the one that made him throw up the other day," she reminded Luke.

"You didn't tell me he ate," the father defended while standing in front of the bathroom mirror, putting his tie around his neck.

"Daddy should know not to take you flying before bed," L orelai cooed to her son, which sent him into a fit of giggles. "You just had a ba ba," she sang.

"Jeez," Luke grumped.

"Hmmmmmmm," Aaden hummed while reaching his hand out, trying to grab his mommy's necklace while his other arm anchored him away from her.

"No, no, you can't break this one," Lorelai said while taking his hand and curling it in her palm.

"Okay, ready," Luke announced while coming back into the room.

Lorelai frowned. "Not fair! I so would have been done before you," she said with a pout.

Luke shrugged while reaching for the baby. "Five minutes, go," he urged.

"Okay, okay," Lorelai said while hurrying to the bathroom to put the final touches on her make- up.

"I'm clocking you!" he yelled after her.

"Bite me!"

"Later!"

Lorelai giggled.

After dropping the boy off at Sookie's, Lorelai and Luke headed for Yale, meeting Emily and Richard in the parking lot.

"I can't believe you have no idea what she's going to do," Emily accused with a frown as the four walked to their seats, Luke holding Lorelai's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze every now and then. "I mean aren't you to 'bosom buddies?' Isn't the sharing of the intimate information your thing?"

Lorelai sighed. "Mom, our thing right now is letting Rory make her own decisions."

"Well, what did you tell her to do?" Emily pressed.

"I didn't tell her to do anything. I'm letting her make her own decision. If she wants to take this job, then she'll take this job. If that means having to go months, maybe a year- without seeing her, then we'll deal. Rory will do what she thinks is best. This is a big opportunity for her and I'm thrilled that she has it. Now can we please stop talking about this and just find our seats," Lorelai requested.

"But you must have at least,"

"Emily, can we focus on the ceremony," Richard chimed in.

"So, are these seats okay? Can you both see the stage?" Luke asked while pointing to an empty row.

"Perfectly," Richard said with a smile.

"Hey!" Christopher's booming voice called just as they went to sit. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized.

"You're not late," Emily said stiffly. "The ceremony is starting late, of course, after Lorelai drove us like cattle to get here."

"Well, I was running late this morning, it threw off my whole day," she said with a shrug, steadily avoiding Chris's gaze.

"And mine," Luke added. "Your showers are being cut down to ten minutes, that's it," he said in a firm whisper.

"Does that count when you're in there with me? 'Cause that cuts down on the fun, which only hurts you, Bub," she whispered with a grin.

"Jeez," he groaned.

Lorelai giggled.

And so the ceremony went.

When Rory's name was called, her proud family stood up and cheered, Lorelai's voice of course rising above the others as she watched her baby accept her diploma, tears in her eyes that she didn't bother to stop.

After pictures were taken, somehow, and she wasn't sure exactly how, Lorelai ended up alone in the parking lot with Christopher. At first, it seemed like she would be by herself, her parents leaving for the party, Rory going off to say goodbye to her friends, and her husband running off to pull the car around. She just assumed Chris would leave too. But he didn't.

"You, uh, you look good, Lor," Chris said with his hands buried in his pockets. "Hell, even after popping out a kid, you good," he said with a smirk.

Lorelai sighed. She turned to look at him. "So, is this how its gonna be with us? I have to be nervous today, not only because my daughter is graduating, but because her father is going to be there. Her father who insists on trying to ruin things for me. I just want to know, you know, so I can prepare myself because we have a kid and things like this, events like this, will come up again, so I just need to know."

"Lorelai, I'm sorry," Chris said truthfully. "I, uh, I don't know why I'm hung up on you, but I am."

"Well, get over it," she said snidely.

"I'm trying," he said.

Lorelai turned to look at him with her arms crossed over her chest. "I said goodbye to two months ago and I intend to stick by that, so don't think time will change anything, because I can't keep doing this," she warned.

"I know, I know," he said while throwing his hands up. "I won't pop up anymore, Lorelai. I'll only see you for Rory's sake and I promise, I won't try and ruin things with you and Luke. You're with him, you're married, you have a kid, I get that," he said. "I'm sorry."

Lorelai sighed.

A moment of silence passed, and Lorelai broke it.

"We just don't work, Chris. We've never had the right timing and it's Rory, she's the only thing holding us together at all. We would have gone our separate ways, I know that," she said confidently. "You'll find someone, Chris," she promised.

The man nodded while giving her a small smile. And then Luke pulled up with the car.

"I guess I'll see ya at the wedding," he joked.

Lorelai couldn't help but smile.

"Decades from now, I hope," she said while moving to the car.

"Yeah," Chris said, "me too."

_Square_

The party/re-enactment thingy was in full swing. The food and punch were going like hot cakes and the whole town was gathered around to celebrate their Rory's graduation.

"April, doll face, come here, we need you to hold this!" Babette boosted from the stage that was set up for the ceremony.

"Coming!" the teen called while hopping up from her chair, leaving Rory and Lorelai alone.

It was lucky that the girl could even come, but thankfully, Lorelai wasn't the only one to see Luke's potential. The judge saw it too and ruled that the father get partial custody. Some weekends, some vacations, some time during the summer, they were all Luke's. Luckily, this weekend fell on one that belonged to Luke.

"So what do you think I should do?" Rory asked while the town was busy setting up.

Lorelai turned to frown at her daughter. "Oh, honey, I think it's your decision."

"I know, but tell me what you think I should do."

"Well, I think you should take a few days to think about it."

Rory rolled her eyes. "You're really not gonna give me your opinion?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Only you know what you want."

"Yeah," Rory said through a sigh. "On the one hand, it could be a once in a lifetime thing, but on the other, I just graduated. Something closer, something more long term may come up. On the other hand, being a reporter on Obama's trail, a- fricken -mazing, right? But on the other hand, months away from you? Away from this town, my home… I'm not thrilled about that."

"Well, you're like a circus freak with all the hands."

"Won't you just tell me what to do?" Rory whined.

Lorelai shook her head. "Honey, I'm sorry."

"Oh! Okay! I know! You don't have to say anything, just blink one eye if you think I should do it, and two if you don't."

Lorelai laughed. "No."

"This is like the bird-versus-turtle Halloween costume all over again," she complained while falling back in her chair.

"Well, I didn't crack then, and I'm not gonna crack now. I just think you need to figure it out. And remember- that flying turtle bird was the most original costume in the third grade."

"Yeah, it was," Rory said with a small smile. "But this time I have to choose- turtle or bird?"

Lorelai nodded. "You're not in third grade anymore."

"Yeah, I guess not."

"People, may we have your attention!" Taylor called.

"Oh, here we go," Lorelai said with an excited grin. "My baby's graduating," she mocked while pressing her hand to her heart.

Rory laughed.

Taylor went on with a ridiculous speech, being very formal about the whole thing, followed by Lulu walking across the stage in Rory's cap and gown.

"Thank you so much! I'm so honored to be graduating from Yale! I can't wait to get out there and show the world what I've got!" Lulu exclaimed after accepting the diploma.

"Hey, why weren't you that enthusiastic?" Lorelai whispered.

Rory shrugged. "Separates the posers from the real thing," she said while jerking her head between her and Lulu.

"I still say she did it better."

Rory stuck her tongue out.

To be continued…

**Please Review!!!**


	21. Road Trip! Wedding! Surprise!

**Author's Note- **

_**And finally, the last chapter! I feel like I've been doing this series forever, lol. But here it is, the final chapter, the last adventure. Sad, but its time to turn the page, and move on to something new. And of course I want to say thank you to everyone who's been reading and a double thank you to those who have always reviewed. I really appreciated the comments, they kept me writing, :D. **_

_**The gang is packing up and heading to North Carolina for Mia's wedding. It will be one hell of a road trip and a ceremony packed with a big surprise! So grab the mallomars, fill up that coffee mug, get comfortable, and enjoy! **_

**A Baby Changes Everything**

**Chapter 21: Road Trip! Wedding! Surprise!**

"I want to be happy, but,"

"But your daughter is leaving in a week and you don't know how you'll handle that," Luke finished for her while packing up the car.

"And this wedding, I think it will be fun, but,"

"But Mia's been like a mother to you and while you're glad she's getting married, you only hope this guy is good enough."

Lorelai sighed. "Yeah."

Luke nodded in agreement while reaching to close the trunk. He then walked around the car and to the porch where his wife sat with their sleeping son clamped to her chest.

"I feel the same way," Luke said while grabbing hold of the railing to swing his butt to the step. After he got as comfortable as he could on a wooden staircase, he hooked his arm around Lorelai, gripping her waist and gently pulling her to his side.

Lorelai closed her eyes, nuzzling into Luke's chest while rubbing her hand up and down Aaden's back.

Luke kissed the top of her head before whispering, "She'll come home."

"When?" Lorelai's mumbled voice asked.

"I don't know," Luke said honestly, his tone hushed for their snoozing baby. "But while she's gone, she'll call, you'll call, you'll make plans, and she'll come back," he said quietly, yet confidently.

Lorelai turned to peak up at him and say, "I want her to kick some newspaper ass, but,"

"But you want her to need you while she's away, and come home when she's done. She will," he said with a smile. "She'll always need you, Lorelai. You're her mom."

The Gilmore nodded though the worry and fear still lingered as she managed a small smile.

Of course, Luke could read her like an open book and he could see that she was still scared.

"You'll see," he promised her. "Now come on, we've got 800 miles to kill. Better get started."

_Crapshack_

"Hey, do you realize this is our first family road trip?" Rory asked while dragging her suitcase across the lawn.

Lorelai nodded while holding a bottle to Aaden's mouth. "Yeah, and my little piggy's first road trip ever," she cooed with a grin, smiling down at her boy as he chugged down his early morning milk.

"Probably shoulda started smaller," Luke grumbled from the trunk, trying to cram everything into Lorelai's jeep. Everyone had been allowed to one suitcase and even that wasn't fitting into the small jeep too well.

"So I googled mapped it and according to that, it takes a little less than 12 hours to get from here to Charolette."

"You said 10!" Luke shouted.

Lorelai shrugged. "I guesstimated."

"I booked us at the Best Western, its only like 10 minutes away from Mia," Rory said while standing next to the trunk, waiting patiently for Luke to make room for her suitcase. "I figure we'll get there between 6 and 8, depending on traffic," the girl reasoned. "But I booked tomorrow night too cause, you know, by the time the wedding's over, it'll be late and I'm guessing no one will have the energey to drive for 12 hours after that."

"Look at that Yale brain," Lorelai said with a proud smile.

"Okay, everything's in," Luke said while motioning for Rory to get in the car.

"North Carolina, here we come!" Lorelai cheered.

_The Road..._

"Are we there yet?" Lorelai asked for the thousandth time.

Luke peaked up at the rear view mirror and asked, "Does she always do this?"

"Even when she's driving," Rory said with a nod while entertaining her little brother who just recently woke up from a snooze.

"I'm bored," Lorelai groaned while rolling her head to look out the window. "And we can't even crank the tunes. Shoulda bought little baby ear plugs."

"I could stick some cotton balls in his ears," Rory offered.

"Don't encourage her," Luke warned.

"Sorry," Rory apolgoized through her giggles.

Lorelai turned to the back seat and asked. "Whats the status on the road snacks?"

"Umm," the young Gilmore started while looking to the bags scattered across the floor. "We're out of red vines, got a few mallomars left, one bag of pretzels, half a bag of lays, the cookies are gone, two Hershey bars left, and no more soda," she listed off with a sigh. "Oh, wait there's something else here," she said with a puzzled frown while reaching to the bottom of the bag. "Carrot sticks?" she questioned, confused.

"What do you think? They're for Mr. Healthnut over here," Lorelai said while pointing to Luke.

Rory nodded and said, "Running low," with a frown.

"Okay, keep an eye out for a market."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You're not gonna find a food store on the I-95."

"Well, then look out for a truck stop or whatever and we'll stop there. Tank's running low anyway," she said while jerking her chin at the dashboard.

"Half a tank isn't running low."

"Oh, hey, we're enterting Maryland," Rory said with a big smile while looking up at a sign.

"Time?" Lorelai asked.

Rory shrugged. "5, 6 hours to go."

"Hungry," the older Gilmore complained. "Need. Mallomars."

Luke sighed.

"Oh, and coffee, need coffee," she added.

"Half-hour, that's it. We find someplace to eat for lunch, then its back on the road," Luke warned.

Lorelai frowned. "But the snacks," she protested.

"You'll live."

Lorelai huffed while crossing her arms over her chest.

_Diner_

"Hey, guys, what can I get you?" the waitress asked, pen in hand, ready to take their orders.

"Lobster, burger, lobster, burger, I can't decide," Lorelai murmured, her eyes going back and forth between the two items.

"She'll have a burger," Luke answered for her. "Side of fries and a coke."

The woman nodded, a smile on her face as she wrote down the order.

"And you, sir?"

"I'll have a turkery burger and a side salad. Rory?" he asked.

"Burger and fries, please. Oh, and a coke."

"Anything for the little guy," she asked "Some milk?"

"Oh, thank you, but I have a bottle ready for him," Lorelai said while turning to the diaper bag.

The waitress nodded. "Anything else I can get you, just give me a shout; my name's Charlene," she said before turning to the kitchen.

"Hey, you," Lorelai started while poking Luke in the chest,"what if I decided I wanted lobster?" she questioned, her face scrunched up in annoyance as she glared at him.

Luke shook his head. "You remember the manicotti at AL's?"

The Gilmore nodded.

"That would have been the lobster here."

"How do you know?" she challenged.

"It's a diner," he said with a shrug. "You shouldn't get seafood at any place other than a seafood place."

"He's right," Rory agreed with grimace. "I wrote an article about that once. The dangers of public eating. Not pretty, let me tell you... you're better off with a burger, mom."

"Yeah, well, you've been Mr. Bossy Pants this whole trip," Lorelai said with a frown.

"I have not," Luke dissmissed.

"No coffee stops, hardly any bathroom breaks, no snack run, and now you're ordering food for me. Tread water carefully, Bud," she warned.

Luke sighed. "I just want to get us there as fast as possible and stopping a million times will just slow us down. We have a baby with us," he reminded her. "He gets too cranky and its all screams for God knows how long," he warned darkly.

"Good point," Rory said with a nod.

Lorelai quickly turned to her daughter. "Whose side are you on?"

"Well, we've been lucky, he's been pretty good," she said while jerking her chin to the carseat where Aaden lay sucking on a teething ring. "But I do have to agree with the bathroom thing, that's just cruel."

"We don't have little pee guns like you men do; we can't go in a water bottle," Lorelai said.

"_Little?"_ Luke asked with raised brows.

Rory cringed. "Oh, ew," she said while putting her hands over her ears.

Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"I didn't go in any water bottles," Luke defended himself. "And its not little," he mumbled.

"How do I know?" Lorelai challeneged. "We fell asleep for a while; who knows what you did while we were out," she said while pointing between her and Rory. "You could have peed in 20 bottles, lite up a smoke, blasted Jimmy Buffet, and mooned a poor old lady in a red convertible driving next to you."

"Yes, that's exactly what I did," Luke said with a roll of the eyes.

"Mmmmahlalala," Aaden babbled, his arms waving around in excitement.

"Ah, ah, ah, no throwing," Lorelai said while grabbing the teething ring from his hand before he could send it flying to the next booth.

"Seemed like he was aiming at you," Lorelai gloated, peaking up at Luke while sticking the ring back in the diaper bag. "He knows daddy was bad while we were asleep, don't you, baby?" she cooed to her little boy. "Yeah, depriving mommy of coffee is dangergous, isnt it, hot stuff? Yeah, he's craaazzzyyyyyy."

"If I'm crazy, you need a straight jacket. And you do," the man added.

"And now he wants to put me in the looney bin. Isn't that nice?"

_Next day_

_Wedding_

"I can't believe this is the first time she's meeting Aaden," Lorelai awed as they climbed the stairs to Mia's home. "And the first time I'm seeing her house," she said with a frown.

"Yeah, I've known her most of my life and I've never seen her place," Luke agreed.

"A day of firsts," she said, taking a breath while reaching for the door.

"Shouldn't we knock?" Luke asked with a frown.

Lorelai shrugged. "You know Mia, she likes people to just come in. Explains why she went out a bought a hotel," she reasoned while opening the door.

"Oh, hey, that must be Howard," Rory realized, her eyes catching a picture as they walked through the foyer. "And look, here we are."

Lorelai followed her daughter's pointing finger. "Aw, cute," she said with a smile. "That's the rug where you used to spin around at the Independence Inn. I bet you threw up just seconds after that picture was taken," she said knowingly.

"Oh, you're here!" Mia's voice travled through the room and the three adults looked up to find the woman coming their way.

"Hi!" the older Gilmore cheered with the biggest smile on her face.

"Hi, Mia!" Rory exclaimed as they nearly barreled into the woman who's always been like a mother/grandmother to them.

"Oh, oh, hi, hi," she said, immiedatly opening her arms for the impact.

"Did you find it all right?" she asked once the hug broke.

"Yeah, I mapquested, peace of cake," Lorelai waved off.

The older woman smiled. "Hello, Lucas," she said while hugging the man. "So you finally got her," she whispered with a grin.

The man nodded. "Took me long enough, huh?"

Mia nodded. "But you got her. And I hear you have a son. Is that who this cute little boy is?" she asked while looking down at the carseat hanging from his hand.

Luke nodded. He bent to set the seat on the floor, then carefully pried the boy away from the straps to lift him in the air.

"Mia, this is Aaden. Aaden, meet grandma- is that okay, the grandma thing?" Lorelai asked with a frown. "I thought it would be cute, you know, if he calls you grandma. He got cheated out of meeting his other one," she said while adjusting his pants while Luke held him away from his chest.

"Of course," Mia said with a nod. "I would love it if he called me grandma, but do you think Emily will mind?" she questioned, concerned.

Lorelai shook her head. "I don't think so. And the title fits. I know you'll be like a grandma to him."

"Let me see that sweet boy," she said while signaling for Luke to hand him over.

Carefully, Luke transferred his son to Mia's waiting arms and the boy immiediatly reached for her necklace.

"Oh, he has a thing for jewerly," Lorelai cautioned.

"He can play with it," Mia said easily, her adoring eyes stuck on the boy as he tried to get a grip around the necklace.

"And what's going on here? You trying to steal my girl?" a man asked while popping up behind Mia.

The older woman turned to grin at her fiance. "I think I may run away with him."

"You can have him for a weekend, tops, but after that I want him back," Lorelai warned.

"Hi," Howard introduced while turning to the women. "You must be Lorelai and Rory. I've heard a lot about you."

"Yes, I'm Lorelai," she said with a smile while shaking the man's hand. "This is my daughter Rory, and that's my husband Luke."

"Nice to meet you," the groom to be said while holding his hand out to Luke.

"You too," The Danes man agreed, giving the guy's hand a firm shake.

"And this little boy who's fighting for your fiance is Aaden," Lorelai said with a grin.

"Careful son, she may seem harmless, but just wait until you forget to pick up your dirty socks. Than you're in for it," he warned playfully.

"Oh, Howard," Mia said with a smile.

"Hey, isn't it bad luck for you to see her in her wedding dress before the ceremony?" Lorelai pointed out.

"Yeah, and if the bride sees a lizard crossing the road, that's bad news, too," Rory added.

"What about chickens? Are chickens crossing the road okay?" Lorelai asked.

Rory nodded. "No more than one though."

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving," Howard surrendered while backing away from the group "But if I don't see you at the alter, I'll hunt you down," he promised his fiance.

"Oh, I know you will," Mia said with a grin.

"And hurry up, the sooner we get married, the sooner we get cake," he said with a grin.

_Later_

_After the Ceremony_

"And so a toast to you, dear Mia. It makes us all so glad to see ya... blissfully joined with dear, good Howard," Lorelai sputtered, fumbling for a rhyming word, but coming up empty. "May your love last long, like its battery-powered," she said, earning a few laughs from the crowd. "Rory and I wanted to do a poem for you, because when Rory was little, she used to love making up poems, and we would perform them for you, and that was such a fun time, but what I've realized is that you can get away with a lot of bad rhymes when you're cute and five, so instead I'll say the best things are worth waiting for, even if they take a long time. So a toast to you both. We love you so much, Mia," she said while raising her glass in the air. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" everyone echoed.

Lorelai gave the crowd a smile before weaving through everyone to get back to the woman in question.

"Thank you, honey, that was wonderful," Mia said while holding her arms out for a hug. "I just wish I could have been there to see you get married," she said over Lorelai's shoulder.

"Oh, Mia, I'm sorry, but it was kind of a spontanious thing, you know? I mean I didn't think it would happen, but Luke stopped me and we drove to Martha's Vineyard, and well, you know the story... but I wanted you there. I really wanted you there."

Mia smiled. "I have something to tell you, and I wanted to say it in person or I would have said something sooner."

Lorelai's brows quirked. "What?" she asked.

"I'm selling my home and Howard and I are moving to Stars Hollow."

The Gilmore's eyes widened. "Really?!"

Mia nodded, a big smile on her face. "With the kids grown up and out of the house, there's nothing really here for us. Howard and I are both retired so we don't need to stay here for any finicial reason. And with Aaden, I want to be there while he's growing up. I want to be a grandma again," she said with a grin. "And, you know, Kathy lives in Boston, which isn't too far and John and his wife are always traveling... It will be nice to be home again. To be near you and Luke and your family. And your Inn, I'm dying to see what all the hoopla is about," she teased with a smirk.

"Rory!" Lorelai called over her shoulder.

"What?!" the young Gilmore called where she was with Luke, the two changing Aaden's diaper.

"Mia is moving back!"

"Back where!?" she asked distractedly, the big sister trying to hold her brothers legs still so his daddy could get his pants through to each one.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "To Mexico! Howard wants to dance around in one of those giant hats!"

Rory shook her head while looking up at her mom in confusion. "What?!" she asked across the room.

"Get over here!"

"Go, go, I got him," Luke assured her. He already knew about the move.

Quickly, Rory zig-zagged through the crowed to find her mom and Mia.

"You're moving to Mexico?" Rory asked, confused.

"Yes," Mia said with a somber nod.

"She's moving back to Stars Hollow!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Rory cheered while launching her arms around Mia.

"See, much better in person," the older woman said with a smile while hugging the girl as tight as she could.

"Yeah, way better," Lorelai agreed with a big smile.

_Later_

_Best Western Hotel_

"Night, baby," Lorelai whispered.

"Night, mom," Rory said, her voice and body fading.

Lorelai smiled at her daughter, her eyes staying planted on the girl until Rory drifted off to sleep. She then turned away from the bed across from hers and looked down at the play pen to make sure Aaden was asleep. When she found that the baby was lights out, she rolled over into Luke's chest.

"Good day," the man said through a sigh, his eyes closed.

Lorelai smiled while cuddling up to her husband. "One of the best."

_THE END!_

**Hope you all enjoyed reading cause I sure had fun writing! And I'd love some reviews before you go!!! Oh, and as for the question that I'm sure is on everyone's mind, lol, I haven't made up my mind about a sequel yet. I have a couple of other projects going on so I think I'm going to put this one to rest and leave it here for a while. But, maybe, possibly, there will be a sequel in the future- that is, if there's one wanted... hint, hint :D. **


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